ATTORNEY-GENERAL

Antisocial Behaviour: Prosecutions

Kate Green: To ask the Attorney-General how many prosecutions under section 5 of the Public Order Act 1986 for behaviour that was deemed to be insulting were conducted in each of the last five years.

Oliver Heald: The records held by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) identify the number of offences in which a prosecution commenced and reached a first hearing in magistrates courts, rather than the number of defendants prosecuted, The following table, therefore, shows in each of the last five years the number of offences charged under section 5 of the Public Order Act 1986, using threatening words or behaviour to cause harassment, alarm or distress.
	
		
			 Public Order Act 1986 (5(1) and (6)) 
			  Number 
			 2007-08 38,048 
			 2008-09 36,892 
			 2009-10 34,544 
			 2010-11 34,279 
			 2011-12 28,549 
		
	
	There is no indication of the final prosecution outcome, or if the charged offence was the substantive charge at the time of finalisation. It is also often the case that an individual defendant is charged with more than one offence against the same victim. It is not possible to identify those cases where the behaviour was deemed solely to be insulting. To do so would require a manual exercise to review individual files which would incur a disproportionate cost.

Plants

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Attorney-General how much the Law Officers' Departments have spent on indoor and outdoor plants and trees since his appointment.

Oliver Heald: The Crown Prosecution Service does not keep a central record of its expenditure on indoor and outdoor plants and trees and such information could be obtained only at a disproportionate cost.
	The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) spent £19,339 on grounds maintenance, plants and flowers during the period. The SFO was responsible for the cost of these items under the terms of its leases. The SFO moved to a new single site in November 2012, and is not incurring expenditure on plants or trees at the new building.
	The remaining Law Officers' Departments have not spent anything on indoor and outdoor plants and trees since May 2010.

BUSINESS, INNOVATION AND SKILLS

Apprentices

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what progress he has made in increasing the number of science, technology, engineering and mathematics apprenticeships; and if he will make a statement.

Matthew Hancock: The Government is committed to boosting apprenticeship opportunities and to improving quality across the programme to better meet employer needs. Final data for the 2010/11 academic year show that there were 48,970 apprenticeship starts in the ‘engineering and manufacturing technologies’ sector subject area, up by 29.3% on 2009/10. Provisional data for the full 2011/12 academic year show that there were 57,000 apprenticeship starts in the 'engineering and manufacturing technologies' sector subject area.
	Final data for the 2010/11 academic year show that there were 10 apprenticeship starts in the 'science and mathematics' sector subject area. Provisional data for the full 2011/12 academic year show that there were 360 apprenticeship starts in the 'science and mathematics' sector subject area.
	Final data for the 2010/11 academic year show that there were 19,520 apprenticeship starts in the 'information and communications technology' sector subject area, up by 55.4% on 2009/10. Provisional data for the full 2011/12 academic year show that there were 18,190 apprenticeship starts in the 'information and communications technology' sector subject area.
	We have also targeted £25 million extra funding for developing advanced and higher level apprenticeship frameworks to address skills gaps. It is estimated that around 25,000 higher apprenticeship places will be created in key sectors including engineering.
	Please note that the figures for 2011/12 are provisional so they should not be compared with figures for earlier years.

Arts

Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills 
	(1)  what recent discussions he has had with representatives of the creative industries about the Government's plan for growth for that sector;
	(2)  what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport about a plan for growth for the creative industries;
	(3)  how many officials within his Department are responsible for the creative industries; and if he will make a statement.

Michael Fallon: The Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, the right hon. Member for Twickenham (Vince Cable) and the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, my right hon. Friend the Member for Basingstoke (Maria Miller) are scheduled to jointly chair the Creative Industries Council (CIC) meeting later this month. The Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills recently met Nicola Mendelsohn, the new industry co-chair of the CIC to discuss the forthcoming meeting. Policy responsibility for the creative industries sits with DCMS. BIS officials contribute to the wider economic and regulatory environment supporting the sector through their work on matters such as skills, the intellectual property framework, company law and access to finance.

Career Development Loans

Shabana Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many meetings the Minister of State for Universities and Science has had with banks on encouraging greater lending through career development loans in the last 12 months.

David Willetts: Barclays and the Co-operative Bank provide professional and career development loans (PCDLs). Both banks have made available sufficient capacity to enable the current PCDL programme to meet demand. I have not met with the banks in 2012 to discuss PCDLs. At a recent roundtable meeting involving one of the banks, the current status of the PCDL programme was discussed.

Creative Industries Council

Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many meetings of the Creative Industries Council he has attended since its establishment; and if he will make a statement.

Michael Fallon: The Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, the right hon. Member for Twickenham (Vince Cable), has attended all three meetings of the Creative Industries Council since its formation.

Education

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills which subjects he considers to be strategically important and vulnerable; and if he will make a statement.

David Willetts: Following the introduction of the new fee and funding arrangements for higher education (HE) from autumn 2012, the Higher Education Funding Council for England's (HEFCE) revised policy for supporting Strategically Important and Vulnerable Subjects (SIVS) no longer focuses on one single list of SIVS subjects, but on risks to the future availability of any subject. This new approach will allow HEFCE to be flexible in responding to subjects that are demonstrated to be strategically important and vulnerable. HEFCE is monitoring the risks to all subjects and will target its support to subjects based on qualitative and quantitative evidence of risks.
	HEFCE is continuing to support: Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), modern foreign languages, and quantitative social science (which were previously classed as SIVS), and is currently making a number of interventions to address subject risks.
	These include: providing additional funding for the teaching of high-cost STEM subjects; further funding for demand-raising activity in modern foreign languages; funding for most students engaging in a year of study or work abroad; further funding to enhance demand for, and provision of, quantitative studies across the social sciences; and additional funding for postgraduate taught and postgraduate research programmes (all subjects).
	In addition government can set out to HEFCE at any time, particular subjects which are thought to be strategically important and on which it would like action to be taken.

Export Credit Guarantees: Zimbabwe

Jeffrey M Donaldson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what the transformers and reactors exports which created one per cent of Zimbabwe's Sovereign debt owed to UK Export Finance were used for; when those exports were made; and whether they were to the government of Zimbabwe or to private companies.

Michael Fallon: The 1% of Zimbabwe's original sovereign debt relating to ‘transformers and reactors’ was in respect of the design, supply and delivery of transformers and reactors for use in the Matimba Insukamini Interconnector. The exports were made between 1994 and 1996, to the Government of Zimbabwe.

Exports

Alun Cairns: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps his Department is taking to increase exports with (a) China and (b) other emerging markets.

Michael Fallon: Increasing our exports to China and emerging markets more widely is a priority for this Government.
	The UK and China enjoy a strong commercial relationship, as “Partners for Growth”, underpinned by regular high level visits and exchanges and economic and trade dialogue mechanisms, such as the Prime Ministers' Summit, the Economic and Financial Dialogue lead by the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Joint Economic and Trade Commission, lead by the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, the right hon. Member for Twickenham (Vince Cable).
	Exports to China continue to grow significantly. In 2012 goods exports to China are expected to have increased approximately 15%, while goods imports are up around 1%.
	We continue to increase our resources in China. In the past year UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) has increased its presence in China. It has also funded 16 additional posts and two new offices—in Changsha and Xi'an—for its service delivery partner, the China-Britain Business Council; helping even more British companies do business with China.
	To help increase exports to other high growth and emerging markets, the UKTI corporate strategy, Britain Open for Business, identifies 20 key emerging markets, including China, for particularly focused efforts. UKTI is shifting resource into these markets in response to growing demand; undertaking awareness raising outreach events throughout the UK; working with business-led partner organisations such as the China-Britain Business Council and UK-India Business Council; and tackling barriers to trade, for instance, through Government-to-Government dialogues, such as those held with India, Russia, UAE, and Vietnam in 2012. In addition, the December 2012 autumn statement set out an increase to UKTI's annual budget of £70 million that will help deliver services to more exporters and help to refocus UKTI activities on the highest value opportunities and emerging markets. The autumn statement also set out plans to enable UK Export Finance to provide up to £1.5 billion in loans to finance small firms' exports.

Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative

Eric Joyce: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether the Government plans to sign up to the London-based Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative.

Jo Swinson: The Prime Minister wrote to G8 leaders on 2 January 2013 setting out the UK's priorities for the G8 presidency. Transparency was highlighted as a key theme and as part of the transparency agenda; the Prime Minister has launched an urgent review of the UK's position on the Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative(1). This review is still under way and an announcement will be made in due course.
	(1) EITI is a global initiative with a Secretariat in Oslo, Norway.

Further Education: Higher Education

Shabana Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many student places designated as being in the margin and allocated to further education colleges were not filled in the 2011-12 academic year.

David Willetts: The margin was not in operation in the 2011-12 academic year.

Higher Education: Finance

Shabana Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will publish his Department's initial analysis of the research he commissioned on the effect of reforms of higher education ahead of the publication of the 2013-14 Grant Letter to the Higher Education Funding Council for England.

David Willetts: The Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) was asked to carry out an analysis of the impact of the higher education (HE) reforms in its 2012-13 grant letter. HEFCE has provided initial advice to Ministers and will publish a full report in spring 2013. HEFCE will continue to monitor the impact of the reforms and provide a further report in spring 2014.

Pay

Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will take steps to ensure that the awarding of contracts by his Department is subject to any successful contractors paying the living wage to their employees engaged on that particular contract; and if he will make a statement.

Jo Swinson: Suppliers to the Department have independent responsibility to set the amounts that are paid to their staff and workers. All suppliers are bound by the legal requirements of the national minimum wage.
	The Department does not routinely carry out checks on suppliers to ensure that they are compliant with the national minimum wage regulations but HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) officers have the right to carry out checks at any time and ask to see payment records. HMRC can also investigate employers, following a worker's complaint to them.
	In respect of the living wage rather than the national minimum wage, the Government supports the living wage and encourages businesses to take it up where possible. However, the decision on what wages to set is for employers and workers.

Plants

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how much his Department has spent on indoor and outdoor plants and trees since his appointment.

Jo Swinson: During the period May to September 2010 the Department spent £7,638.50 (exclusive of VAT) with our foliage suppliers, contracts which originally started in September 2003. The Department ended its foliage contracts with effect from 30 September 2010.
	The foliage contracts were terminated from 30 September 2010 so the Department has had no spend on foliage since then.
	Savings of £25,170 per annum have been made since terminating the contracts.

Regional Growth Fund

Andrew Bingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what criteria will be used to judge applications for funding under round four of the Regional Growth Fund.

Michael Fallon: The criteria used to judge applications for funding under Round 4 of the Regional Growth Fund (RGF) are the same as for earlier rounds. To qualify for support from the RGF, projects or programmes should demonstrate that they:
	create additional sustainable private sector growth;
	rebalance the economy in those areas currently dependent on the public sector;
	would not otherwise go ahead without support from the RGF;
	offer value for money; and
	are state aid compliant.
	I look forward to receiving bids from around the country by the deadline of 20 March. Details on the RGF are available from:
	www.gov.uk/understanding-the-regional-growth-fund

Science

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what progress he has made in agreeing a standard definition of science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

David Willetts: The Government recognises the possibility of confusion caused by having different definitions of STEM; however, these are designed for different purposes by different organisations (not all of which are Government-funded) and there are good reasons for the existence of different definitions.
	A definition of STEM based on subjects studied, as in the definition used by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) based on the Joint Academic Coding System (JACS), is practical, objective and broadly consistent over time. The JACS coding frame is owned and maintained by the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) and the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) and is used for subject coding of provision across higher education in the UK; it can be used for international comparisons and other statistical analysis. Skill contents of courses as set out and monitored in the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA) Subject Benchmark Statements provide valuable information on educational standards but have a qualitative nature that makes them unsuitable for such analysis.
	The Government encourages those using definitions that are based on JACS but covering slightly different sets of JACS subjects (depending on the context) to always make explicit the precise definition that has been used (and why).

Science: Graduates

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps he is taking to improve supply and demand data for graduates in science, technology, engineering and mathematics subjects.

David Willetts: The Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) already collects and publishes a substantial amount of data on the supply of graduates from UK Higher Education Institutions from different disciplines, including science subjects. For example, HESA recently published information on higher education qualifiers by subject area in Table 7 of the Statistical First Release 'Enrolments and Qualifications Obtained at UK Higher Education Institutions 2011/12', which can be found at the following link.
	http://www.hesa.ac.uk/content/view/2667/393/
	Subject information is collected and published by HESA using the Joint Academic Coding System (JACS); this allows for the statistics to be made available to a fine level of detail, such as aerospace engineering, microbiology or mathematical sciences, while also allowing users to group the information at the broader levels used in the publication mentioned above.
	HESA also collects and publishes information on the employment outcomes of graduates from UK Higher Education Institutions; the most recent publication of such information was in the Statistical First Release 'Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education 2010/11'. Similarly these data are available by qualifying subject and by standard occupation classification six months after graduation for those graduates who have progressed to employment. More information is available at the following link.
	http://www.hesa.ac.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2541&ltemid=161
	There is no specific single data source on the demand for graduates in STEM subjects. A key issue here is that graduates in these subjects can fill a wide variety of jobs. Some of these jobs will be clearly subject-specific and STEM-related, whereas others will be less directly linked—though that does not mean that individuals in those jobs are not using their STEM skills.
	However, the UK Commission for Employment and Skills (UKCES) does undertake forecasts of future employment in its occasional 'Working Futures' series (part-funded by BIS). The most recent report covered labour market projections for 2010-20 and was published in 2012. As well as overall employment it also contains projections by broad occupational and sectoral groups—e.g. jobs in engineering, manufacturing, construction. This is available at:
	http://www.ukces.org.uk/publications/er41-working-futures-2010-2020
	There have also been specific studies into the supply of and demand for STEM skills—for example, UKCES published an occasional paper on the Supply and Demand for high-level STEM skills in December 2011. This paper can be found at:
	http://www.ukces.org.uk/publications/the-supply-of-and-demand-for-high-level-stem-skills
	The introduction of the Key Information Set (KIS) in September 2012 was a major development in helping students to make informed course choices. KIS provides comparable information on individual undergraduate courses in the areas which students have said is most useful to them. This includes the employment destinations and salaries of previous graduates. KIS is available via each course page and via the updated national comparison website, Unistats:
	http://unistats.direct.gov.uk/

Science: Graduates

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate he has made of the number of graduates in (a) engineering and technology, (b) physical sciences, (c) computer science, (d) mathematical sciences and (e) biological sciences which will be required over the next 10 years.

David Willetts: We do not have estimates of demand for each graduate subject. However, the Working Futures 2012 report, published by the UK Commission for Employment and Skills (UKCES)(1), estimates that:
	(a) 723,000 science, research engineering and technology professionals will be required between 2010 and 2020; and
	(b) 194,000 science, engineering and technology associate professional will be required over the same period.
	(1) Working Futures 2010-20 revised August 2012: UKCES evidence report 41 by Institute for Employment Studies and Cambridge Econometrics.
	Note:
	The report is based on a forecast model which utilises a range of labour market data and a complex macroeconomic model. The 2012 report is the fourth in the series.
	In both cases the bulk of this demand comes from people retiring who will need replacing.
	These figures are broad indications of demand based on a number of complex assumptions. Previous Working Futures reports have shown similar levels of demand for these occupations.
	These occupations will be filled by people from higher education, further education, higher apprenticeships, from unemployment and inactivity, from career changes and from migration.

Science: Higher Education

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many applications were made for (a) engineering and technology, (b) physical sciences, (c) computer science, (d) mathematical sciences and (e) biological sciences undergraduate courses at UK universities in each of the last three years.

David Willetts: The information is given in the table.
	
		
			 Applications(1) via UCAS to full-time undergraduate courses for specific subject groups(2) 
			  Year of entry 
			  2010 2011 2012 
			 Engineering 134,601 140,897 137,027 
			 Technology 12,356 11,998 9,779 
			 Physical sciences 91,697 99,305 98,124 
			 Mathematical and computer sciences 136,716 145,173 — 
			 Mathematical Sciences — — 44,224 
			 Computer sciences — — 89,673 
			 Biological sciences 215,906 228,104 217,372 
			 (1) Each applicant can submit up to five applications. (2) Subjects are allocated to subject groups using the Joint Academic Classification of Subjects (JACS). In 2012, a new version of JACS (JACS3) was introduced, which means that direct year-on-year comparisons with previous years cannot be made for all subjects. Source: UCAS

Students: Fees and Charges

Ann McKechin: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how much universities in England spent on fee waivers in (a) 2010-11 and (b) 2011-12.

David Willetts: Universities in England charging above the basic rate of tuition are required to agree access agreements with the Office for Fair Access (OFFA). OFFA collects information about the amounts spent by universities with access agreements on financial support to students from under-represented groups, and additional outreach.
	In academic year 2010-11, OFFA has informed the Department that £380 million was spent by institutions with access agreements on financial support for students from under-represented groups. OFFA provisionally estimates that the amount spent in 2011-12 was £386.5 million. OFFA has advised the Department that it does not have information on how much of these amounts related to fee waivers.
	OFFA will be collecting more detailed information on the financial support provided by institutions from the 2012-13 academic year onwards. This will show how much was spent on fee waivers.

UK Intellectual Property Office

Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many times he has met the director general of the Intellectual Property Office in the last six months.

Jo Swinson: There have been no formal meetings between the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, my right hon. Friend the Member for Twickenham (Vince Cable), and the acting chief executive officer of the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) (Sean Dennehey) in the last six months. However, they met on 17 December 2012 at the IPO Policy Briefing event held at the Big Innovation Centre, London.
	The returning chief executive officer of the IPO (John Alty), who will resume his post on 18 February 2013, met the Secretary of State on 26 July 2012 to discuss the Hargreaves report and copyright exceptions.

UK Membership of EU

Wayne David: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what contingency plans his Department (a) has made, (b) is making and (c) plans to make for UK withdrawal from the EU; whether those plans will be published; and what estimate he has made of the likely cost of implementing those contingency plans.

Michael Fallon: The Department has not made any plans for the UK's withdrawal from the EU.

UK Membership of EU

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what specific exercises his Department has undertaken in assessing the risk to UK business and inward investment of (a) renegotiation of the UK's terms of membership of the EU, (b) a referendum on the UK's membership of the EU and (c) withdrawal by the UK from the EU.

Wayne David: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment his Department has made of the potential effect on (a) inward investment from member states of the EU and (b) investment from outside of the EU as a result of uncertainty about the UK's membership of the EU.

Michael Fallon: The Government is committed to help shape the future of an open, flexible and adaptable European Union, and to work for the completion of the single market which is so important for British business.

UK Trade and Investment

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what criteria were used to decide whether Everything Everywhere and O2 should participate in the Strategic Investments Programme being promoted by UK Trade and Investment.

Michael Fallon: The Government considers the following set of criteria when considering which companies should be included in the strategic relationship management:
	(1) Current and potential investment in the UK;
	(2) Capacity or potential capacity to export from the UK; and
	(3) The potential for the approach to add value to our relationship.
	Given their status as major inward investors and their considerable importance to future economic growth, Everything Everywhere and Telefonica (O2) were judged to sufficiently meet this set of criteria. The Government recognises that there are companies sufficiently meeting the above set of criteria which are not covered by strategic relationship management and has committed to expanding the approach on a sector by sector basis, as described in the 2012 autumn statement.

UK Trade and Investment: India

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate he has made of the value to UK business of UK Trade and Investment delegations to India since 5 May 2010.

Michael Fallon: UKTI measures the value to UK business of overseas visits and other export services through its independent Performance and Impact Monitoring Survey (PIMS). This shows that the average additional sales reported by business participants in overseas missions last year was £6,136,000. It is not possible to break these figures down to show results for individual visits.

CABINET OFFICE

Cybercrime

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what recent assessment his Department has made of the cyber security of mobile devices.

Chloe Smith: holding answer 28 January 2013
	We have considered cyber threats in relation to mobile, smart phones, tablets and other mobile ICT equipment as outlined in our UK Cyber Security Strategy. As part of our response we sponsor Get Safe Online:
	www.getsafeonline.org
	which provides practical and easy to understand advice and information on mobile devices and the key threats and what people need to do to avoid them.

Directors

Jon Trickett: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what declaration of interest must be made by Government non-executives; how often any such declarations are required to be made; and if he will publish all received declarations.

Francis Maude: As set out in the Corporate Governance Code, all non-executives are asked to disclose any actual, potential or perceived conflict of interest.
	According to the Financial Reporting Manual (FReM), Departments are required to disclose the details of company directorships and other significant interests held by board members which may conflict with their management responsibilities. This requirement is unchanged since before 2010.
	The Cabinet Office therefore collects information from non-executives alongside other board members. As was the case under the previous Government, this is carried out twice yearly in conjunction with interim accounts and annual reports and accounts.
	Copies of the Register of Board Members Interests are laid in the House of Commons Library alongside annual report and accounts.
	Copies of the register are available on request. Other Register of Members financial interest details can be found in the link specified in page 41 in the annual report and accounts 2011-12: HC56.

Procurement

Jon Trickett: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office 
	(1)  how many procurement officers are currently employed by his Department;
	(2)  how many civil servants in his Department regularly deal with procurement services;
	(3)  how many procurement officers in his Department have relevant procurement qualifications.

Chloe Smith: Since May 2010 the Government has made significant progress in reforming its approach to procurement. As a result of this agenda £3 billion was saved for the taxpayer last year alone.
	My Department currently employs three dedicated procurement officers within the central departmental procurement function, of whom two possess a recognised procurement qualification. There are a further seven staff within the central departmental procurement function who are involved in procurement activities, including evaluating tenders, raising purchase orders and contract management, two of whom hold relevant qualifications. Additionally, the Government Digital Service employs three staff who handle procurements on behalf of other Departments. None hold a formal procurement qualification.
	In addition to these Cabinet Office staff, the Government Procurement Service also undertakes procurements for both the Department's own and pan-Government requirements. There are 225 dedicated procurement officers currently working in the GPS.

Taxis

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office pursuant to the answer of 17 January 2013, Official Report, column 939W, on taxis, for what reasons his Department does not maintain a central database of departmental spend on taxis.

Francis Maude: As was the case under the previous Administration, such records are categorised alongside other spend as travel charges.

UK Membership of EU

Yvonne Fovargue: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what contingency plans his Department (a) has made, (b) is making and (c) plans to make for UK withdrawal from the EU; whether those plans will be published; and what estimate he has made of the likely cost of implementing those plans.

Francis Maude: The Department has not made any plans for the UK's withdrawal from the EU.

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Employment Agencies

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the total spending on recruitment agencies by his Department was in each month from July to December 2012.

Brandon Lewis: We have interpreted recruitment agency to mean companies (third party suppliers) that we engage in recruiting permanent staff for the Department. Our Procurement records show that we have no expenditure with the recruitment agencies from July to December 2012.

Fire Services: Finance

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  what the like- for-like percentage change in formula funding has been for (a) rural and (b) urban fire authorities between 2012-13 and the provisional allocations for 2013-14;
	(2)  if he will estimate the level of formula funding per head in the provisional local government finance settlement for (a) rural and (b) urban fire authorities for 2013-14.

Brandon Lewis: My Department does not publish such figures by both rural classification and local government tier.
	Details of the provisional settlement formula funding figures by local authority can be found at:
	www.local.communities.gov.uk/finance/1314/settle.htm

Housing: Construction

George Galloway: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps he plans to take to increase the level of house-building.

Mark Prisk: The Government are providing a wide range of support for new house building in England. Schemes include:
	£19.5 billion of public and private money for new affordable homes in the period to 2015. This will help deliver up to 170,000 affordable homes by 2015 for rent and affordable homeownership;
	£10 billion of debt guarantees to support delivery of new homes purpose built for private rent and for additional affordable housing;
	£200 million equity finance for new homes purpose built for private rent, with an expert task force to support delivery of demonstration projects;
	a share of £300 million to bring an extra 5,000 affordable homes back into use and to support the guarantees in delivering an additional 15,000 affordable homes; the £570 million Get Britain Building investment fund which provides development finance to unlock smaller stalled sites;
	the Growing Places Fund which provides £730 million to deliver the infrastructure needed to unlock stalled schemes that will promote economic growth, create jobs and build homes;
	the New Homes Bonus scheme. The Government have made over £630 million of payments to local authorities in the first two years. This is a powerful incentive for councils to support housing and growth and to bring empty homes back into use;
	the FirstBuy scheme. Over £900 million is being invested by Government and housebuilders to help 27,000 first-time buyers into home ownership;
	the NewBuy Guarantee scheme helps buyers realise their aspirations for home ownership with a 5% deposit. The Government have provided the necessary guarantee to support lenders to offer 95% Loan To Value new build mortgages; and
	the Custom-Homes programme, makes £30 million of government funding available to individuals to build their own home on a repayable basis.
	The autumn statement on 5 December 2012 announced a new local infrastructure fund to provide up to £474 million to accelerate the delivery of large housing sites; enable the quicker disposal of surplus public land for new homes; and fund small infrastructure projects within enterprise zones. In addition, £100 million to bring forward more public sector sites for development.

Housing: Construction

George Galloway: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will consider making available ring-fenced and time-limited capital funds to local authorities to increase the level of house-building.

Mark Prisk: Through the Homes and Communities Agency's Affordable Homes Programme (2011 to 2015), 26 local authorities successfully bid for almost £89 million funding to provide nearly 4,000 new affordable homes.
	Under the reforms to council housing finance, which we initiated last year, local authorities have £2.8 billion borrowing capacity to invest in new or existing stock. This is in addition to the £1.6 billion we're investing over 2011 to 2015 in making 127,000 council homes decent. Furthermore in addition to £160 million already committed to bringing empty homes back into use, on 26 November 2012, we launched a bidding round to bring a further 5,000 empty homes back into use using a share of £300 million announced in the Housing and Growth Package. Finally the £730 million Growing Places Fund is helping to deliver key infrastructure needed to promote economic growth, create jobs and build houses in England. The fund is an important boost for local economies and provides a major opportunity for local authorities and local enterprise partnerships to work together to identify and prioritise the infrastructure they need for growth.
	I would however encourage all local authorities to use what is already within their gift to increase house building; be it through use of their planning powers or the release of land in their ownership to other developers.

Local Government: Conditions of Employment

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what guidance his Department gives to local authorities on whether (a) councillors and (b) elected mayors are covered by the Part-Time Workers (Prevention of Less Favourable Treatment) Regulations 2000.

Brandon Lewis: None, as councillors are not employees.

Metropolitan Police

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much funding his Department allocated to the Metropolitan Police in (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12 and (c) 2012-13; how much he plans to allocate in future years; and if he will make a statement.

Brandon Lewis: holding answer 25 January 2013
	The following table sets out the amount of funding allocated to the Greater London Authority for policing purposes by my Department:
	
		
			 £ million 
			  2010-11 2011-12 2012-13(1) 
			 Revenue Support Grant 115.764 211.997 16.250 
			 Redistributed Business Rates 797.220 685.847 838.294 
			 (1 )In 2012-13 the amount of Revenue Support Grant and Redistributed Business Rates contained an amount for the police-element in respect of council tax freeze compensation for 2011-12. In other years this payment, together with that for all other non-police elements, has been allocated to the Greater London Authority. 
		
	
	These figures exclude direct funding from the Home Office.
	From 2013-14, following the introduction of the business rates retention scheme, funding for policing transferred to the Home Office, to be paid through the Police Grant Report.
	In 2013-14, following the localisation of council tax support, provisionally, £119.3 million of Section 31 funding will be paid to police authorities to compensate for the reduction in their council tax base as a result.

Mobile Homes

Andrew Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what recent estimate his Department has made of the number of static park homes in (a) the UK, (b) Yorkshire and the Humber and (c) Harrogate and Knaresborough constituency.

Mark Prisk: This information is not held centrally.
	The Department has made no official estimate, but industry figures suggest there are approximately 85,000 park homes on 2,000 sites in England and 5,000 homes on 100 sites in Wales.
	Every local authority in England, Wales and Scotland is required, under section 25 of the Caravan Sites and Control of Development Act 1960, to maintain a register of caravan (including static park home) sites in its area.
	Responsibility for caravan site legislation in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland is devolved.

Mortgages: Government Assistance

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many successful applications were made to the New Buy scheme from people in (a) Don Valley constituency, (b) Doncaster borough or (c) South Yorkshire up to (i) 30 June 2012 and (ii) 31 December 2012.

Mark Prisk: The Department does not produce data on how many successful applications were made under the NewBuy scheme from people in (a) Don Valley constituency, (b) Doncaster borough or (c) South Yorkshire up to (i) 30 June 2012 and (ii) 31 December 2012.
	Official statistics were published on 27 September 2012 for the period 12 March-30 June 2012, including the number of properties sold in England under the scheme. The next official statistics, covering the third and fourth quarters of 2012 will be available on 27 March 2013.
	The Home Builders Federation, one of the Government's key partners in the development and operation of NewBuy, recently announced that 3,000 reservations have been made under the scheme, and that the reservation rate in the first three weeks of 2013 is the highest since the scheme was launched last March.

Parking: Fees and Charges

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the average increase in car parking fees charged by local authorities has been in the last two years.

Brandon Lewis: The following table shows the total sales, fees and charges for parking services for local authorities in England (including off-street and on-street parking).
	
		
			  £ million 
			 2009-10 1,280 
			 2010-11 1,248 
			 2011-12 1,295 
		
	
	Thus, the change from 2009-10 to 2011-12 was an increase of just 1.2%. This is a fall in real terms.
	Councils have a key role in promoting economic development, supporting local economic growth and local jobs. Making sure that car parking charges are reasonable is an important and practical way in which councils can help support their local high streets. Temporary or permanent free parking periods can provide particular boosts to local high streets and town centres.
	This Government has taken steps to support local high streets. From April 2013, the local retention of business rates will mean that councils have a direct financial incentive in supporting business and retail growth in town centres. This is in contrast to the local government system we have inherited, where councils had no real incentives to support local high streets and city centres.
	My Department has also tackled flawed parking rules inherited from the last Administration. In January 2011, we amended national planning guidance to:
	remove Whitehall restrictions which imposed maximum numbers of parking spaces in new residential developments;
	change a policy which inhibited competition between council areas to one that said parking charges should not undermine the vitality of town centres;
	introduce a policy that parking enforcement should be proportionate;
	remove the policy that encouraged councils to set car parking charges to discourage the use of cars.
	The National Planning Policy Framework followed through on these changes by removing restrictions which imposed maximum numbers of parking spaces in new non-residential developments. Greater provision will help relieve pressure on on-street parking and support local high streets.
	As pledged in our response to the Mary Portas review, we are also taking steps to increase local transparency and accountability on the setting of municipal parking policies. Accordingly, a revised version of the ‘Code of Recommended Practice for Local Authorities on Data Transparency’, published in October, proposes that local authorities should routinely publish in an open format: revenue from off-street parking charges; revenue from on-street parking charges; the number of off-street parking places; the number of on-street parking places; the revenue from parking fines; and the number of free parking spaces available.

Procurement

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the monetary value was of contracts awarded by his Department to (a) management consultancies and (b) IT companies in (i) 2010-11 and (ii) 2011-12; and if he will make a statement.

Brandon Lewis: In November 2011, we procured a £44,230 contract for market assessment work for the sale of-the Fire Service College. This professional advice will allow us to maximise the receipts, and hence the return to the taxpayer, from the sale. No other relevant contracts were awarded.
	In 2010-11, we procured £1,785,450 of contracts with IT companies, and £2,363,437 of contracts were procured in 2011-12. These figures are the total estimated value over the length of the contracts (in some cases, over a number of years). In this context, they are not comparable figures on the yearly spend on IT companies.
	As part of the Government's Transparency agenda, the Department is publishing all contracts awarded over the value of £10,000 (from January 2011) on the Contracts Finder website at:
	www.contractsfinder.businesslink.gov.uk.
	Moreover, as part of my Department's broader transparency agenda, we are publishing online new contracts over £500.

Retail Trade: Non-domestic Rates

Richard Graham: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  what recent assessment he has made of the effects of business rate increases on retailers;
	(2)  what assistance his Department has made available to retailers and small shops to pay business rates.

Brandon Lewis: The Government keeps all taxes under review and as part of that listens to the views of the business community. Business rates are linked to inflation. There has been no increase in business rates in real terms.
	At the autumn statement, 5 December 2012, Official Report, columns 871-82, we announced that the temporary doubling of small business rate relief would continue for a further year. That makes three and a half years in total and means the higher level of relief will apply throughout 2013-14. Many local retailers are benefiting from that including some who are paying no rates at all.
	We have also given local authorities a wide-ranging, discretionary power to grant business rates discounts which they can use to support local retailers on the high street. The Localism Act has. also made it easier for small firms to claim small business rate relief.
	Provisions in the Growth and Infrastructure Bill will also protect shops from business rate hikes that would have occurred because of the business rates revaluation. The Valuation Office Agency has estimated that the 2015 revaluation would result in "significant tax increases" for the food retail sector in particular.

Social Rented Housing

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  which local authorities are currently not participating in the recording of data on new social housing lets; and what steps he will take to ensure future participation; [R]
	(2)  in what proportion of local authority new social housing lets made in London for the financial year 2011-12 the nationality of the tenant has been recorded;
	(3)  for what reason the question on the nationality of the new tenant in the CORE survey on social housing lets is optional; and if he will make that question compulsory. [R]

Mark Prisk: holding answer 17 December 2012
	In 2011-12, there were six local authorities who were not participating in recording data on new social housing lettings. These were: Birmingham city council, Portsmouth city council, London borough of Hackney, London borough of Newham, London borough of Lambeth and the London borough of Greenwich. The previous Minister for Housing, my right hon. Friend the Member for Welwyn Hatfield (Grant Shapps), wrote to the Leaders in May to highlight the importance of participation, and five of these local authorities are now actively providing, or finalising internal and database systems to provide, data. Importantly, this means that all London local authorities should be providing data from April 2013. Portsmouth city council is the remaining non-participating local authority. We will continue to monitor local authorities and provide continued practical support to Portsmouth and others to enable them to participate effectively.
	Within the Continuous Recording of Lettings (CORE) data, tenant nationality data was recorded for 68% of reported social lettings in London in 2011-12. A further 19 % responded to this question but refused to give their nationality.
	The question on tenant nationality is voluntary. Local authorities may not be able to obtain this information about the tenant as they may not carry out tenant interviews to complete CORE and, when asked, some tenants do not wish to divulge their nationality. We are open to representations on this matter.
	Most foreign nationals who have recently come to England are not eligible for an allocation of social housing. Broadly speaking, European economic area nationals are eligible if they are working, self-sufficient, or have a permanent right of residence in the UK (after five years lawful residence in the UK). Other foreign nationals are not eligible for social housing unless they have been granted leave to enter or remain in the UK with recourse to public funds (for example, people granted refugee status or humanitarian protection).
	Where foreign nationals are eligible, they will have their housing needs considered on the same basis as other applicants in accordance with the local authority's allocation scheme.
	In this context, the Localism Act gives back to councils the freedom to manage their own waiting list. They will be able to decide who should qualify for social housing in their area, and to develop solutions which make best use of limited social housing stock.

Social Rented Housing: South Yorkshire

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many successful home swaps had taken place under the Government's Home Swap Scheme involving a property in (a) Don Valley constituency, (b) Doncaster Borough or (c) South Yorkshire up to (i) 30 June 2012 and (ii) 31 December 2012.

Mark Prisk: “HomeSwap” Direct, the national home swap scheme, was launched in October 2011 to increase opportunities for tenants who wish to move home through a mutual exchange by allowing them to see details of every available property. Since the launch tenants have carried out over 2.8 million searches of the property data held on “HomeSwap” Direct.
	Details of the number of moves that have taken place under the “HomeSwap” Direct scheme in (a) Don Valley constituency, (b) Doncaster borough or (c) South Yorkshire are not held centrally.

Written Questions: Government Responses

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when he plans to answer PQ 135404, tabled on 19 December 2012 for answer on 7 January 2013.

Brandon Lewis: PQ 135404 was answered on 22 January 2013, Official Report, column 207W.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Football

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps she is taking to encourage local football clubs to offer their facilities for the use of (a) community sports groups and (b) schools.

Hugh Robertson: Many football clubs already do this through their own community programmes. However, Sport England provides funding to the Football Foundation to improve and develop community sports facilities. This includes the provision of 3G surfaces. All these facilities are available for community sport use. In addition, as part of the Youth and Community Sport Strategy, Sport England is providing funding to the Football Association to develop 2,000 new multi-sport satellite clubs in secondary schools.

Olympic Games 2012: Touting

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport 
	(1)  on what dates (a) she, (b) Ministers in her Department and (c) officials in her Department have met officers from Operation Podium to discuss ticket fraud and the secondary ticket market since the formation of Operation Podium; and what the outcomes of those meetings were;
	(2)  if she will place in the Library of a copy of any reports prepared for her Department by Operation Podium on ticket fraud and the secondary ticketing market.

Hugh Robertson: A range of assessments of threats to the Olympic and Paralympic Games were provided to Government to inform the Olympic security strategy and its successful delivery. This included reporting from the Operation Podium team in the Metropolitan police, and from other police forces and law enforcement agencies, regarding serious and organised crime. These reports contain sensitive information which cannot be published, even though the games are over. I am unable, therefore, to place the reports in the House Library. DCMS Ministers and officials met regularly with senior members of the Metropolitan police over several years running up to the Olympic and Paralympic Games, and daily during the games themselves.

Plants

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much her Department has spent on indoor and outdoor plants and trees since her appointment.

Hugh Robertson: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has not incurred any expenditure on indoor and outdoor plants and trees in the period since the Secretary of State was appointed. The comparable figure for the period 2005 to 2010 was £84,412.59.

Sports: West Midlands

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps her Department is taking to increase the number of voluntary sports coaches in (a) the west midlands and (b) Dudley.

Hugh Robertson: Sport England is providing £1.5 million to Sports Coach UK to support the development of both the paid and voluntary coaching workforce nationally. Sport England also provides £40,000 per year for Country Sports Partnerships (CSPs) specifically to support the development of their local community sport coaching workforce, of which around 75% are volunteers. This funding will directly benefit the five CSPs in the west midlands, with Dudley covered by the Black Country CSP.

UK Trade and Investment

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport which Ministers and officials in her Department are participating in the Strategic Investments Programme being promoted by UK Trade and Investment; and with which companies they are paired.

Hugh Robertson: Each company covered by strategic relationship management has an assigned Contact Minister, who is responsible for ensuring that issues raised by companies are shared across relevant Departments. The Minister for Culture, Communications and Creative Industries, my hon. Friend the Member for Wantage (Mr Vaizey), is assigned as the Contact Minister for Everything Everywhere and Telefónica.
	Contact Ministers are supported by appointed senior officials who are responsible for leading cross-Government co-ordination of the strategic relationship. The senior official appointed to lead cross-Government engagement with Facebook and Google is Jon Zeff, DCMS director, (Lord Green is the Contact Minister for Facebook and Google). The senior official appointed to lead cross-Government engagement with BT, Everything Everywhere, Telefónica and Vodafone is Simon Towler, head of telecommunications policy, (Lord Green is the Contact Minister for BT and Vodafone).

UK Trade and Investment

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what consideration she has given to potential conflicts of interest arising from participation by Ministers in her Department in the Strategic Investments Programme being promoted by UK Trade and Investment.

Hugh Robertson: The Contact Minister role complements existing relationships between departments and business by ensuring clear two-way communication and that Government's position is joined-up, coherent and long-term. The normal rules governing potential conflicts of interest and the presence of officials at meetings between Ministers and companies apply. Ministers interacting with companies on the strategic relationship management list continue to be guided by the Ministerial Code.

ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Affordable Warmth Programme

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate his Department has made of the effect of the Affordable Warmth scheme on the number of households in fuel poverty in (a) 2012-13, (b) 2013-14 and (c) 2014-15.

Gregory Barker: Quantifying the impact of any specific policy in a specific year on levels of fuel poverty is extremely challenging, given uncertainty around changes in the level and distribution of incomes across households, changes to the housing stock and energy prices. For this reason, we have not made an assessment of the short-term impact of ECO Affordable Warmth in any given individual year.
	We anticipate the ECO Affordable Warmth obligation will assist around 130,000 low income, vulnerable households each scheme year. Coupled with the Carbon Saving Communities obligation around 230,000 households on low incomes or in low income areas will be assisted through ECO each scheme year, greatly alleviating pressure on fuel bills.

Carbon Emissions Reduction Target

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change when he expects Ofgem to publish its final update on the (a) community energy saving programme and (b) carbon emission reduction target.

Gregory Barker: The CERT (carbon emission reduction target) and CESP (community energy saving programme) legislation requires Ofgem to provide a final report to me by 30 April and 1 May 2013 respectively, which I would expect to be published.

Carbon Emissions Reduction Target

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent estimate he has made of (a) the level of emission reduction achieved and (b) the number of households that have received assistance under the Carbon Emission Reduction Target (CERT); and what proportion of the overall CERT target has been met.

Gregory Barker: It is Ofgem's role, as administrator of the Carbon Emission Reduction Target (CERT), to estimate and report company progress.
	Their most recent publication reported that 265 MtCO2 of the 293 MtCO2 (lifetime) target, approximately 90%, had been met by obligated energy companies by the end of September 2012.
	CERT has been responsible for the delivery of a wide range of energy efficiency measures. Ofgem do not track the total number of households who have benefitted. However, my Department estimates that nearly 8 million households have benefited from a major insulation measure as a result of both CERT and CESP (community energy saving programme).

Community Energy Saving Programme

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent estimate he has made of (a) the level of emission reductions achieved and (b) the number of households that have received assistance under the Community Energy Saving Programme (CESP); and what proportion of the overall CESP target has been met.

Gregory Barker: It is Ofgem's role, as administrator of the Community Energy Saving Programme (CESP), to estimate and report company progress.
	Ofgem report on CESP progress every six months, and their latest report covers activity to end of June 2012. At that point, 6.1 MtCO2 of the 19.25 MtCO2 target (lifetime, including adjustments), which is approximately 31.6%, had been met by obligated energy companies, and 66,977 dwellings had been treated. These numbers will have increased greatly over the final six months of the scheme, and we expect Ofgem to provide a report on final delivery by the 31 December 2012 deadline in May 2013.

Deloitte

John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many people have worked for the Department on (a) a paid and (b) an unpaid basis who have been seconded from Deloitte in (i) 2010, (ii) 2011 and (iii) 2012.

Gregory Barker: The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) has had one person on secondment from Deloitte. That person was on secondment to DECC from July 2010 to April 2012 with their salary costs fully met by the Department.

Energy: Job Creation

Stephen McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate he has made of the number of jobs that will be created in (a) the city of Birmingham, (b) the West Midlands and (c) England as a result of the measures contained in the Energy Bill.

John Hayes: It is estimated that measures contained in the Energy Bill could support as many as 250,000 jobs across the UK energy sector. While there is potential for these jobs to be spread throughout the UK, it is difficult to predict the precise location of fixture investments in new generating infrastructure. Therefore, these estimated job figures have not been disaggregated further, either to a regional or a city level.

Insulation

Nick Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate he has made of the number of jobs in the insulation industry which have been lost (a) in total and (b) in Wales since the ending of the Carbon Emissions Reduction Target and Community Energy Saving Programme on 31 December 2012.

Gregory Barker: The insulation industry is undergoing a period of transition as we enter a new phase of energy efficiency delivery with the Green Deal and the new energy company obligation (ECO).
	Given that two-thirds of lofts are now fully insulated (and only very few have no insulation at all), and only 0.9m easy to treat cavity walls remain, it is inevitable that jobs in the loft and standard cavity wall insulation sector will decline.
	However, while the Department has not made an estimate of any changes in employment in the insulation industry over the first few weeks of this year, we estimate that overall GB insulation industry jobs will increase from about 26,000 in 2011, to up to 60,000 by 2015. This is largely because of the move to promoting solid wall insulation, which is more labour intensive than treating lofts and standard cavities.

Plants

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how much his Department has spent on indoor and outdoor plants and trees since his appointment.

Gregory Barker: DECC have not spent any money on plants or trees since the appointment of the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, the right hon. Member for Kingston and Surbiton (Mr Davey).
	Through our Facilities Management contractor (‘Interserve’), a Christmas tree was provided in the main reception areas of 3 Whitehall Place and 55 Whitehall. However, no separate cost was attributed to this within the contract to DECC.

UK Membership of EU

Sheila Gilmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what contingency plans his Department (a) has made, (b) is making and (c) plans to make for UK withdrawal from the EU; whether those plans will be published; and what estimate he has made of the likely cost of implementing those plans.

Gregory Barker: The Department has not made any plans for the UK's withdrawal from the EU.

Wind Power

Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change whether his Department has set any targets for the number of wind turbines in the UK.

John Hayes: The 2009 Renewable Energy Directive sets a target for the UK to achieve 15% of its energy consumption for heat, electricity and transport from renewable sources by 2020. There are no targets, for specific renewable energy technologies in the UK.

Wind Power

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change pursuant to the answer of 18 January 2013, Official Report, column 956W, on energy, what information was submitted to his Department in support of the Brechfa wind farm application.

John Hayes: The Planning Inspectorate submitted to the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, the right hon. Member for Kingston and Surbiton (Mr Davey), on 12 December 2012 the Examining Authority's report and recommendation for the development consent application made in respect of the Brechfa Forest West wind farm. The Planning Inspectorate also submitted a number of representations from interested parties which were received after the close of the formal examination period. In addition, the Secretary of State has received representations about the application directly.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

British Indian Ocean Territory

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 17 January 2013, Official Report, column 909W, on British Indian Ocean Territory, if he will commission an independent study to re-evaluate the science and practicalities of resettlement of the British Indian Ocean Territory.

Mark Simmonds: Following the end of the European Convention on Human Rights litigation in December, the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), said the Government will now take stock of our policy towards the resettlement of the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT). as we have always said we would. There are fundamental difficulties with resettlement in BIOT, but we will be as positive as possible in our engagement with Chagossian groups and all interested parties. No decision has yet been taken on whether to commission a further study of the issues raised by resettlement. While climate change and sea levels are of concern because the islands are low-lying, it is important to note that science is only one of a very large number of factors influencing the practicalities and costs of different forms of resettlement.

Central African Republic

Stephen Phillips: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps his Department is taking to work with the United Nations towards lasting peace in the Central African Republic.

Mark Simmonds: The UK has been active in UN Security Council discussions on the recent crisis in the Central African Republic (CAR). We worked particularly closely with France on the drafting of Resolution 2088, agreed on 24 January. The resolution sends a strong message on the need for speedy implementation of the Libreville peace agreement, and extends the mandate of the UN Integrated Peacebuilding Office in the CAR (BINUCA), for 12 months. We will remain engaged with the UN, including in March when the Secretary General reports on the latest situation in CAR and on BlNUCA's priorities.

Iran

David Burrowes: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations he has made to the Iranian government over the prosecution of Christians in Iran and the cases of Pastor Saeed Abedini, Farshid Fathi and Vruir Avanessian.

Alistair Burt: The UK has frequently condemned Iran’s persecution of its Christian religious minority. In my statement of 3 January, I highlighted the harassment of Christians over the Christmas period, including the re-arrest of Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani on Christmas day. Furthermore, I called on Iran to release immediately any citizens who remained in prison in Iran on the basis of their faith or belief, including Reverend Avanessian. We condemn the imprisonment of these three individuals, which appears to be on the grounds of their Christian faith. The UK continues to call on Iran to cease its persecution of Iranian citizens based on their religion or belief.

Iran

David Burrowes: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent reports he has received of the persecution of those professing a minority religious faith in Iran.

Alistair Burt: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has received reports describing persecution in Iran on the basis of faith from Christians. Baha is and Dervishes in recent weeks. The UK remains greatly concerned about the persecution of religious minorities in Iran and continues to call on Iran to comply with its international obligations regarding its citizens’ rights to freedom of religion and belief.

Iran

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs in which fora and under whose auspices the Government takes part in negotiations with Iran; and on what matters.

Alistair Burt: Following the regime-sponsored attack on our embassy in Tehran in November 2011, the UK's diplomatic relations with Iran were reduced to the lowest possible level. The UK and Iran nominated Sweden and Oman respectively, to act as protecting powers. This is the channel for bilateral business.
	The UK participates actively in multilateral forums, such as the United Nations, of which Iran is also a member.
	The UK is a member of the E3+3, which negotiates with Iran. These negotiations aim to find a diplomatic solution to the issue of Iran's nuclear programme.

Libya

Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent reports he has received on the export of weapons from Libya following the overthrow of the Gadaffi regime.

Alistair Burt: We are aware that weapons would have moved over the borders as pro-Gaddafi fighters fled south during and after the fighting in Libya in 2011.
	The Libyan Government realises the challenge of policing its long and porous borders. In December 2012 it ordered the temporary closure of Libya's land borders with Chad, Niger, Sudan and Algeria in order to limit weapons smuggling and illegal cross-border migration.
	Border security is consequently a major part of the international community's offer of assistance to the new Libyan Government, including a UK-funded Border security—adviser who will be deploying to Libya in February. Border security was a key focus at a UK-hosted senior official’s meeting in London in December 2012, at which representatives of the new Libyan Government discussed with the US, France , UN, EU and other partner countries how best to deliver relevant international assistance to the Libyan authorities.

Mali

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Newark of 22 January 2013, Official Report, columns 171-2W, on Mali, whether the technical personnel to which he makes reference are armed; and whether there are any other personnel accountable to his Department currently deployed in Mali.

Mark Simmonds: I can confirm that the RAF technical personnel supporting the C17 plane, to which I referred on 22 January, are armed with side arms for personnel protection. This is based on a force protection assessment which is continually evaluated. The Government of Mali has been informed through diplomatic channels.
	As for personnel accountable to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office deployed in Mali I can confirm that there is a small team of diplomatic staff supported by local staff in administrative and logistical roles.

Metropolitan Police

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much funding his Department allocated to the Metropolitan Police in (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12 and (c) 2012-13; how much he plans to allocate in future years; and if he will make a statement.

David Lidington: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) does not allocate funds directly to the Metropolitan Police Service. However the FCO does pay the Metropolitan police for the provision of certain services such as: security for international events; specialist police officer support as part of our response to consular incidents; training for overseas capacity building work; and expertise in the field of counter-terrorism.

Occupied Territories

George Galloway: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received on whether the Israeli Government intends to allow settlement building to continue on occupied lands.

Alistair Burt: We are awaiting the formation of the incoming Israeli Government following elections held for the 19th Knesset on 22 January 2012. We are following developments closely. When formed, we look forward to working with the next Israeli Government, and will look to them to uphold international law. We will continue to raise our concerns, calling on Israel to cease all settlement activity in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

UK Membership of EU

Emma Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what contingency plans his Department (a) has made, (b) is making and (c) plans to make for UK withdrawal from the EU; whether those plans will be published; and what estimate he has made of the likely cost of implementing those plans.

David Lidington: The Department has not made any plans for the UK's withdrawal from the EU.

UK Membership of EU

Nicholas Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the costs and benefits of UK membership of the European Union for each of the last 30 years.

David Lidington: A formal cost-benefit analysis would be difficult to carry out meaningfully as some of the most important benefits cannot be quantified: for example, our ability to secure tough, targeted EU-wide sanctions against Iran; or how enlargement has helped spread peace and freedom across Europe.
	Evidence submitted to the Balance of Competences review should provide some evidence of costs and benefits of specific areas of EU activity.

Western Sahara

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 12 December 2012, Official Report, column 344W, on Western Sahara, whether MINURSO monitors the number of Moroccan soldiers stationed in the Western Sahara; what reports he has received on whether Morocco has reduced the number of troops stationed in the Western Sahara; and whether MINURSO has reported on troop confinement in that area to the United Nations Security Council.

Alistair Burt: As stated in my answer of 12 December, we do not hold information on how many Moroccan soldiers are stationed in the non-self-governing territory of Western Sahara. MINURSO is responsible for monitoring the ceasefire in place and adherence to the Military Agreement between Morocco and the Polisario. A detailed annual report on these activities is publicly available on the UN Security Council website: document S/2012/197. However, this report does not include overall troop numbers.

Written Questions: Government Responses

Emma Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he plans to answer Parliamentary Question 137663, tabled on 14 January 2013 for answer on 17 January 2013.

David Lidington: I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 24 January 2013, Official Report, column 419W.

HEALTH

Action on Smoking and Health

Ian Paisley Jnr: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what funding his Department has allocated to the charity, Action on Smoking and Health in each of the last three years;
	(2)  whether his Department has made an assessment of the effectiveness of its funding provided to the charity, Action on Smoking and Health and of the way in which that funding has been used;
	(3)  on how many occasions ministers and officials in his Department have met the charity, Action on Smoking and Health in the last 12 months.

Anna Soubry: Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) received funding of £220,000 in 2010-11 through the Department's “Section 64 General Scheme of Grants to Voluntary and Community Organisations” (the Section 64 Scheme). ASH received this grant specifically to carry out a defined project titled “Capitalising on Smokefree: the way forward”.
	ASH has subsequently received funding of £150,000 in 2011-12 and £150,000 in 2012-13, also through the Department's Section 64 Scheme. The grants were awarded for work to support delivery of Healthy lives, healthy people: a tobacco control plan for England.
	All third, sector organisations in receipt of a grant from the Department are expected to provide quarterly and end-of-project reports, a summary of total spending on the project, and yearly accounts. Senior officials have met ASH 12 times in the last year to ensure good governance of the Section 64 grant and effective delivery of their work on implementation of the Tobacco Control Plan for England. The Department is satisfied that the grants to ASH have been used appropriately and that ASH has delivered the Department's objectives for the funding.
	Details of ministerial meetings with external stakeholders are published quarterly in arrears on the Department's website at:
	http://transparency.dh.gov.uk/category/transparency/ministerial-gifts-hospitality/
	The Department does not keep a central diary of the engagements that every departmental official has had with ASH representatives. In discharging their official duties, Ministers, special advisors and departmental officials meet with representatives from such organisations in a wide range of fora, including speaking engagements, conferences and seminars.

Antidepressants: Young People

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 21 January 2013, Official Report, column 116W, on anti-depressants, if he will make it his policy to collect data on the number of anti-depressants prescribed to children and young people.

Norman Lamb: The Department has no plans to do so.

Beef: Horse Meat

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what findings of horsemeat traces his Department has detected in (a) wholesale and (b) retail meat (i) imported from the Republic of Ireland and (ii) in (A) England, (B) Northern Ireland, (C) Scotland and (D) Wales.

Anna Soubry: The Food Standards Agency is not aware of any samples taken by United Kingdom local authorities that have detected traces of horse DNA in food products originating from the Republic of Ireland or UK countries. The recent incident concerning horse DNA in burger meat resulted from tests conducted by the Food Safety Authority of Ireland.

Cancer

Bob Blackman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what steps his Department plans to take to support the NHS Commissioning Board in the prevention of premature mortality linked to cancer;
	(2)  what steps he plans to take to support the NHS Commissioning Board in its aim of saving 5,000 lives a year through early diagnosis of cancer.

Anna Soubry: In the Government's mandate to the NHS Commissioning Board, we set an objective for the board to work towards making the national health service one of the most successful countries in Europe at preventing premature deaths. The aim is to make significant progress in supporting the earlier diagnosis of illness, ensuring people have access to the right treatments, reducing unjustified variation between hospitals and focusing the NHS on preventing illness.
	It is for the board to decide how they will carry this out and the NHS Outcomes Framework will be used to assess progress against the mandate objectives. Domain 1 of the NHS Outcomes Framework focuses on measuring how the NHS is performing in preventing people from dying prematurely and includes mortality and survival rates for cancer.
	As we have highlighted in the second annual report for Improving Outcomes: A Strategy for Cancer published in December 2012, good progress is being made in improving cancer outcomes. We are investing over £450 million in early diagnosis of cancer including funding general practice direct access to key tests to help them rule out or confirm cancer in symptomatic patients, funding more testing and treatment in secondary care and running campaigns to raise awareness of symptoms of cancer.
	We are investing over £173 million to expand radiotherapy services up to 2014-15 to support the utilisation of existing radiotherapy equipment; provide for new services; support increased access to proton beam therapy abroad and deliver a £23 million Radiotherapy Innovation Fund (2012-13). The Department has set aside up to £250 million of public capital to be invested by the NHS in building proton beam therapy facilities at The Christie Hospital and University College London Hospital. These facilities will treat up to 1,500 patients a year and the first is due to become operational from the end of 2017.
	Since October 2010, over 25,000 patients in England have benefited from the additional £650 million funding for cancer drugs that this Government has committed to providing.

Cancer

Bob Blackman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what safeguards his Department has put in place to minimise any loss of expertise and knowledge of cancer services staff during the transition to strategic clinical networks.

Anna Soubry: I refer my hon. Friend to the written answer given to the hon. Member for Sheffield Central (Paul Blomfield) on 16 January 2013, Official Report, columns 845-6W.

Depression: Medical Treatments

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the comparative cost effectiveness of treatments sanctioned by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence for repeat episodes of depression which include use of (a) anti-depressants, (b) talking therapies and (c) mindfulness.

Norman Lamb: The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence's guidance on depression incorporate consideration of the cost-effectiveness of the available treatment options. We have made no separate assessment of this guidance.

Directors

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what declarations of interest must be made by his Department's non-executive directors; with what frequency any such declarations are required to be made; and if he will make that information publicly available.

Daniel Poulter: The Department's non-executive board members and non-executive members of its Audit and Risk Committee are required to declare any conflicts of interest upon appointment. They are also expected to declare any subsequent conflicts that arise and the Department checks on an annual basis that non-executives' declarations are up to date and accurate. This is in line with the requirements of the Code of Practice on Corporate Governance in Central Government Departments.
	Details of non-executives' company memberships and other significant interests are listed in the Department's Annual Report, together with any interests as part of Related Party Transactions in the accounts. This is available at:
	https://www.wp.dh.gov.uk/publications/files/2012/10/23735_HC-66-DoH.pdf

Drugs: Testing

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  when (a) his Department and (b) the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence last reviewed the effects of Methylphenidate on children and young people;
	(2)  what recent discussions (a) his Department and (b) the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence have had with pharmaceutical companies on publishing the results of the testing of anti-depressants on children: and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  what recent discussions he has had with his counterparts from other western countries about forcing pharmaceutical companies to publish all results of the testing of new drugs.

Norman Lamb: The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) led a European review of the risks and benefits of methylphenidate that concluded in January 2009. Throughout this review independent scientific expert advice was obtained from the Commission on Human Medicines on the available evidence. This concluded that the benefits of methylphenidate-containing medicines continue to outweigh their risks, when they are used in their approved indication for children aged six years or over and adolescents with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), as part of comprehensive treatment programmes.
	As a result of this review the prescribing guidance and information for patients has been updated to ensure it contains clear, comprehensive information about the effects of methylphenidate and the importance of monitoring children and adolescents throughout their treatment. The marketing authorisation holders for methylphenidate products have also been asked to conduct studies to further characterise the safety of methylphenidate, particularly the long-term safety. The safety of methylphenidate remains under close review and information from the ongoing studies will be evaluated as soon as it becomes available.
	NICE published technology appraisal guidance in March 2006 which recommended methylphenidate within its licensed indication as an option for the treatment of ADHD. NICE also published a clinical guideline in September 2008 on the diagnosis and management of ADHD in children, young people and adults which recommends methylphenidate as a treatment option subject to certain criteria.
	NICE reviewed the need to update the clinical guideline in October 2011 and decided that it would not be updated at that time. We understand that NICE plans to consider the guideline for an update again in July 2014. Further information is available at:
	http://guidance.nice.org.uk/CG72
	If an update is made to a drug's marketing authorisation by the regulator, NICE will consider updating its published guidance.
	There have been no recent discussions with pharmaceutical companies about publishing the results of clinical trials of antidepressants in children.
	NICE is an independent body and any such discussions are a matter for the Institute. As part of its technology appraisal process, NICE asks for full access to all the relevant information that is available to the marketing authorisation holder for the medicine being appraised.
	The Secretary of State for Health, the right hon. Member for South West Surrey (Mr Hunt) has not had discussions with his counterparts in the European Union on the matter of pharmaceutical companies publishing all results of the testing of new drugs. However, publishing results from all authorised clinical trials is planned as a development of the current EU Clinical Trials Register later this year and is further being considered as part of the proposed EU clinical trials regulation. The MHRA is leading the discussions on behalf of the United Kingdom and the topic will be considered in the coming months. Also, the MHRA has been involved in discussions on the commitment of the European Medicines Agency to publish clinical trial data that has been submitted as part of applications for a Marketing Authorisation.

Health Services

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the take-up of new treatment recommended by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence, by GPs, consultants and health authorities.

Norman Lamb: National health service organisations are legally required to fund treatments recommended by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) in its technology appraisal guidance.
	The Health and Social Care Information Centre published its third report on the ‘Use of NICE appraised medicines in the NHS in England’ on 17 October 2012. The report compares actual usage data for 2010 and 2011 with an estimate of the eligible population for NICE-recommended medicines within the NHS in England, where possible, and shows variation between organisations.
	The experimental Innovation Scorecard, published on 10 January 2013, will help the NHS understand and address unexplained variation in the uptake of new and existing treatments within the NHS. ‘NICE Technology Appraisals in the NHS in England 2011; Experimental Statistics—Innovation Scorecard’ is available at:
	www.ic.nhs.uk/catalogue/PUB09539

Health: Children

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 19 December 2012, Official Report, column 850W, on Health: Children, what recent assessment he has made of the impact of poverty on life satisfaction for children and young people.

Esther McVey: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Department for Work and Pensions.
	The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions is responsible for child poverty and I am responding as the Minister responsible. The Government is committed to tackling child poverty and to eradicate the causes including worklessness, educational failure and family breakdown, rather than simply treating the consequences of the problem.
	The Government is taking action to tackle child poverty including introducing universal credit, which will simplify the benefit system and ensure that work is always the best option; investing more in nursery and pre-school provision, including providing 260,000 disadvantaged two-year-olds with 15 hours a week free child care; investing in education, including £2.5 billion for the pupil premium for disadvantaged pupils and £1.2 billion for capital investment in schools; and raising the tax threshold which will lift more than 2 million people out of paying tax altogether.
	As we made clear in the consultation document published in November, growing up in poverty can affect children in a number of ways, and no two children's experiences of growing up are the same. Some children suffer disadvantage and still go on to live independent and successful lives. But while some children thrive, poverty increases the risk of adverse outcomes including educational failure, teenage pregnancy, truanting and antisocial behaviour.
	Income matters—and will remain a key indicator in defining what it means to be in poverty, but income is not all that matters. It is now widely understood that the current relative income measure by itself is not an accurate picture of child poverty. We need to develop better measures that capture the reality of children's experience of poverty. That is why we are consulting on what those measures should be.

Hospitals: North East

Julie Elliott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average time for an operation was in (a) Sunderland and (b) the North East in each of the last five years.

Anna Soubry: The average (median) times waited in weeks for patients who started admitted treatment during the month of November, for the last five years, for Sunderland Teaching Primary Care Trust (PCT) and the North East are shown in the following table:
	
		
			 As at November: Sunderland Teaching PCT North East 
			 2008 7.6 7.5 
			 2009 6.7 7.2 
			 2010 6.4 7.3 
			 2011 6.7 7.1 
			 2012 6.6 7.6 
			 Notes: 1. The Department collects and publishes monthly referral to treatment (RTT) data which are used to monitor NHS waiting times. As the question asks about average time for an operation, it is assumed the question is about average waiting times and has been answered using RTT data for patients whose treatment involved admission to hospital. 2. Data has been collected since August 2007, with adjusted admitted pathways from March 2008. November waiting times are extracted from monthly series, for comparison with latest. Source: Department of Health referral to treatment (RTT) waiting times return

Mental Health Services: Young People

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 21 January 2013, Official Report, column 119W, on mental health services: young people, when his Department will publish the figures for the amount spent on the treatment of mental illness in children and young people in 2011-12.

Norman Lamb: The figures used in the response to the answer of 21 January 2013, Official Report, column 119W, came from the Programme Budget figures. The figures for 2011-12 will be published shortly.

Mental Illness: Bolton

Yasmin Qureshi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people living in (a) Bolton South East constituency and (b) Bolton were treated for mental illness in (i) 2010-11 and (ii) 2011-12.

Norman Lamb: Information is not available in the format requested.
	The number of adults using national health service specialist mental health services in the Bolton metropolitan district from 2008-09 to 2010-11 is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Mental health service users; persons count 
			 April 2010 to March 2011 6,010 
			 April 2009 to March 2010 5,500 
			 April 2008 to March 2009 5,400 
			 Notes: 1. Data on numbers of people under 18 accessing mental health services is not available. 2. The data relates to number of adults accessing secondary mental health care. The data does not include number of adults treated in primary care.. 3. Data is provided at local authority level. Source: Mental Health Minimum Dataset 2010-11, Information Centre for Health and Social Care

Methylphenidate

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many children under six years have been dispensed prescriptions for methylphenidate in each of the last 30 years;
	(2)  how many and what proportion of children being prescribed methylphenidate have had their prescriptions reviewed after six months in the last three years.

Norman Lamb: Information is not available on the number of people prescribed a particular medicine. Methylphenidate is approved in the European Union for children aged six years or over and adolescents with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, as part of comprehensive treatment programmes. It is for doctors to decide whether and at what point to review continued treatment.

Metropolitan Police

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much funding his Department allocated to the Metropolitan police in (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12 and (c) 2012-13; how much he plans to allocate in future years; and if he will make a statement.

Daniel Poulter: The Department has made only one payment to the Metropolitan Police Authority in the period requested.
	4 January 2011—£4,000.00 to support the Newham Police Alcohol Custody Referral scheme

Multiple Sclerosis

Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he has recently discussed with his Ministerial colleagues commissioning research into the possible association between a deficiency in vitamin D and multiple sclerosis.

Anna Soubry: The Department has not commissioned, and has no plans to commission, research into the possible association between a deficiency in vitamin D and multiple sclerosis (MS). However, at the request of the Department, the Government's Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) is currently carrying out an extensive review of vitamin D and health. As part of this process SACN will assess the evidence for an association between vitamin D and MS. SACN's report is due to be completed in 2014.

North Yorkshire and York Primary Care Trust

Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many individuals and groups have left the North Yorkshire and York Primary Care Trust to join (a) a clinical commissioning group and (b) the NHS Commissioning Board in 2012.

Anna Soubry: As at 31 December 2012, no individuals have left the North Yorkshire and York Primary Care Trust to join either a clinical commissioning group (CCG) or the NHS Commissioning Board. However, 67 staff (53.59 full-time equivalent (FTE)) have a deferred appointment to a CCG and 18 staff (16.17 FTE) have a deferred appointment, to the NHS Commissioning Board. It is anticipated these staff will take up their new roles on 1 April 2013.

Radiotherapy

Tessa Munt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to the answer of 10 October 2011, Official Report, column 312W, on radiotherapy: South-West England and pursuant to the answer of 22 January 2013, Official Report, column 290W, on radiotherapy, what new radiotherapy services were provided from the £13 million funding for expanding radiotherapy capacity in 2011-12 and in which parts of the country those services were commissioned; what new radiotherapy services have been provided to date from the £22 million funding in 2012-13 and in which parts of the country those services were commissioned; and what plans he has for allocating the £41 million remaining from the total fund of £150 million.

Anna Soubry: ‘Improving Outcomes: A Strategy for Cancer’, published on 12 January 2011, set out our commitment to expand radiotherapy capacity and extend proton beam therapy services by investing over £150 million in additional funding up to 2014-15. The following table breaks down the funding allocation over the four-year period.
	
		
			  £ million 
			 2011-12 13 
			 2012-13 22 
			 2013-14 32 
			 2014-15 42 
		
	
	The remaining £41 million of the £150 million total is funding to expand the proton beam therapy overseas programme.
	Radiotherapy funding is allocated to all primary care trusts (PCTs) through their recurrent revenue allocations. Recurrent revenue allocations are currently made to PCTs on the basis of a weighted capitation formula used to determine PCTs' target shares of available resources to enable them to commission similar levels of health services for populations in similar need. Funding for specific services is not identified at PCT-level. It is for PCTs to decide how to use their funding to commission services, including radiotherapy services, to meet the health care needs of their local populations, taking account of local and national priorities. From 1 April, the NHS Commissioning Board will be responsible for the allocation of resources to clinical commissioning groups.
	In terms of linking our investment in expanding radiotherapy to increased treatment activity, the report ‘Radiotherapy in England 2012’, published by the Department in November 2012, sets out that radiotherapy episodes increased by 7.5% from 2009-10 to 2011-12 and attendances increased by 8.9% in the same period. A copy has already been placed in the Library. Data on activity in 2012-13 have not yet been published. Data on radiotherapy activity by provider are available through the cancer commissioning tool kit which can be accessed by commissioners, providers and other stakeholder organisations.

Royal Brompton Hospital

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health on how many occasions he has visited the Royal Brompton Hospital since the announcement of a review of the safe and sustainable decision on its future; if he will make it his policy to meet medical staff in the paediatric department during a visit to the Royal Brompton Hospital as part of the current review; and if he will make a statement.

Anna Soubry: No Health Minister, in their official capacity, has made a visit to the Royal Brompton Hospital since 4 July 2012, when the Joint Committee of Primary Care Trusts (JCPCT) made its decision on the future pattern of children's congenital heart surgery.
	We know that some are disappointed with the JCPCT's decision and want to see children's congenital heart surgery continue at their local hospitals. However, the Safe and Sustainable review was an NHS review, independent of Government.
	In these circumstances, and given legal proceedings and a review by the Independent Reconfiguration Panel are under way, it would not be appropriate at this time to comment further or to visit the paediatric cardiac surgery unit at the Royal Brompton Hospital.

Tobacco: Packaging

Ian Paisley Jnr: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he expects to announce the Government's decision on proposals for standardised packaging on tobacco products.

Anna Soubry: The Department is currently in the process of collating and analysing all the responses received following the closure of the ‘Consultation on standardised packaging of tobacco Products’. The Government has an open mind on this issue and any decisions to take further action will be taken only after full consideration of the consultation responses, evidence and other relevant information.
	A summary report of the consultation will be published in due course.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Crime

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many offences of (a) domestic violence, (b) rape, (c) other serious sexual violence and (d) hate crime were committed in England (i) in total and (ii) by region in (A) 2010-11 and (B) 2011-12; and if she will make a statement.

Jeremy Browne: The available information requested is given in the tables; this excludes figures for hate crime in 2010-11 as these were first collected by the Home Office in 2011-12.
	The Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) have collected data on the number of hate crimes recorded by police since 2009 and this information can be found at:
	http://www.report-it.org.uk/hate_crime_data1
	Due to differences in the collection, these figures are not directly comparable with the figures collected by the Home Office.
	
		
			 Number of domestic violence incidents in England by region(1) 
			 Number 
			 Regions 2010-11 2011-12 
			 North East Region 56,234 55,619 
			 North West Region 71,026 120,080 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber Region 82,380 85,154 
			 East Midlands Region 53,614 58,161 
			 West Midlands Region 81,973 70,922 
			 East of England Region 71,129 76,368 
			 London Region 121,421 118,169 
			 South East Region 107,943 107,917 
			 South West Region 52,150 52,715 
			 England 697,870 745,105 
			 (1) A domestic violence incident is not an offence in its own right. It is defined by ACPO as any incidence of threatening behaviour, violence or abuse (psychological, physical, sexual, financial or emotional) between adults, aged 18 and over, who are or have been intimate partners or family members, regardless of gender or sexuality. Notes: 1. All data are provisional and unverified by forces. 2. Figures for Gloucestershire are not available for 2010-11 and 2011-12 (South West region) and figure for Greater Manchester is not available for 2010-11 (North West region). 
		
	
	
		
			 Selected sexual offences recorded by police in England by region 
			 Number of offences 
			  2010-11 2011-12 
			 Regions Rape Most serious sexual crime(1) Rape Most serious sexual crime(1) 
			 North East Region 693 1,206 632 1,158 
			 North West Region 1,932 3,503 1,929 3,414 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber Region 1,467 2,503 1,390 2,315 
			 East Midlands Region 1,284 2,534 1,234 2,137 
			 West Midlands Region 1,591 2,925 1,576 2,981 
			 East of England Region 1,379 2,580 1,526 2,597 
			 London Region 3,283 5,184 3,335 5,078 
			 South East Region 2,031 4,383 2,024 4,072 
			 South West Region 1,490 2,711 1,598 2,702 
			 England(2) 15,150 27,529 15,244 26,454 
			 (1) Excluding rape offences. (2) Figures for England excludes British Transport police. 
		
	
	
		
			 Numbers of offences flagged as a hate crime in 2011-12 
			 Number 
			  Monitored hate crime strand(1)  
			 Regions Race Religion Sexual orientation Disability Transgender Total(2) 
			 North East Region 1,091 37 89 50 5 1,272 
			 North West Region 5,330 288 636 271 49 6,574 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber Region 2,839 59 147 169 11 3,225 
			 East Midlands Region 2,523 121 307 206 20 3,177 
			 West Midlands Region 4,006 71 349 143 20 4,589 
			 East of England Region 2,676 106 307 316 53 3,458 
			 London Region 8,039 610 1,239 122 75 10,085 
			 South East Region 3,994 156 508 169 34 4,861 
			 South West Region 2,601 78 290 151 26 3,146 
			 England(3) 33,099 1,526 3,872 1,597 293 40,387 
			 (1) In 2007, the police, Crown Prosecution Service, Prison Service (now the National Offender Management Service) and other agencies that make up the criminal justice system agreed a common definition of monitored hate crime which included the following five strands: disability, race, religion or belief, sexual orientation and transgender identity. Only notifiable offences are included. (2) The totals are not a count of crime as more than one form of hate crime can be assigned to an offence. 37 out of the 39 police forces in England were able to provide data that included multiple hate crime strands being assigned to a single offence. (3) Figures for England excludes British Transport police.

Deportation: Armed Forces

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many current or former Commonwealth soldiers have been deported because of disciplinary offences in the Army in each year since 2006.

Mark Harper: Information on the service and work histories of people removed from the UK are only held at the level of coordinated paper case files or within the notes section of the UK Border Agency's Case Information Database (CID).
	These data sources are not aggregated in national reporting systems, which would mean this question could only be answered through a disproportionately expensive manual case search to collate the data.

Driving under Influence

Rehman Chishti: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have (a) been breathalysed for drink driving, (b) failed a breathalyser test for drink driving and (c) failed a breathalyser test and been more than twice the legal limit in each year since 2000.

Jeremy Browne: Breath tests data for England and Wales are collected by the Home Office and published on an annual basis in the National Statistics series ‘Police Powers and Procedures’. The latest internet-only release is available via:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/science-research-statistics/research-statistics/police-research/police-powers-procedures-201011/
	Available data relate to the number of roadside breath tests conducted by police to determine whether motorists are driving with alcohol in their body, and the combined number of positive or refused tests. The Home Office does not ask forces to provide separate figures for positive and refused tests, or for breathalyser readings.
	Data for the period 2000 to 2010 are provided. The next ‘Police Powers and Procedures’ release is scheduled to be published in the spring of 2013 and will contain data for 2011.
	
		
			 Number of breath tests and positive/refused tests: England and Wales, 2000 to 2010 
			  2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 
			 Total number of tests 714,750 623,881 570,236 534,285 578,000 607,368 601,740 599,752 711,658 814,207 733,088 
			 Positive or refused tests 94,623 99,548 103,476 106,349 103,020 104,284 103,730 97,590 91,666 93,232 83,932 
			 Notes: 1. Figures for ‘total breath tests’ show a large increase from 2007 to 2009 due to a new digital breath test system being implemented by many police forces. Previously, with paper reporting, negative breath tests tended to be under-reported by forces. 2. Figures for ‘positive/refused tests’ between 2000 and 2008 contain some prosecutions data for failing a breath test, where shortfalls were found in the data supplied to the Home Office.

Driving under Influence

Rehman Chishti: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been caught drink driving during each month for each of the last five years.

Jeremy Browne: The information requested is not available from the police recorded crime data collected by the Home Office.

Intelligence Services

Chris Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 10 January 2013, Official Report, column 419W, on intelligence services, on how many occasions the QUAD forum has met in each of the last 10 years; and on how many of each of these occasions British (a) Ministers or (b) officials have been present.

Jeremy Browne: The QUAD forum was a quadrilateral initiative between Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran and the UK. No meetings of the forum have been held since 2005. Prior to that, it met irregularly to discuss operational deconfliction on drug trafficking issues. We do not have any record of UK Ministers attending the forum.

Police Community Support Officers: West Midlands

Stephen McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police community support officers there were in the (a) City of Birmingham and (b) West Midlands in each of the last five years.

Damian Green: The number of police community support officers in Birmingham basic command unit and west midlands police force area, in the last five financial years are shown in the table.
	
		
			 The number of police community support officers in Birmingham basic command unit and west midlands police force area(1, 2, 3, 4) 
			 31 March Birmingham basic command unit West midlands police force area 
			 2008 278 748 
			 2009 319 812 
			 2010 320 811 
			 2011 307 758 
			 2012 — — 
			 (1 )This table contains full-time equivalent figures that have been rounded to the nearest whole number. (2 )The number of police community support officers for 31 March 2008 to 2010 for Birmingham basic command unit are the sum of west midlands D1-D3, E1-E3 and F1-F3 basic command units. (3 )The number of police community support officers for Birmingham basic command unit for 31 March 2011 are the sum of Birmingham east, Birmingham north, Birmingham south and Birmingham west & central. (4 )Figures at basic command unit level ceased to be collected from 2011-12 following Lord Wasserman's assessment.

Police ICT Company

David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which police and crime commissioners had agreed that their police force would participate in the proposed police IT company by 15 January 2013.

Damian Green: Police and Crime Commissioners have been briefed on the Police ICT company and the opportunities to get involved as the company develops, but have not yet been formally invited to participate.

Police: Surveillance

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will make it her policy to accept in full the recommendations of Mr Maina Kiai, UN Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly, in his report on the use of embedded undercover police officers in groups that are non-violent and which exercise their democratic rights to protest, published on 23 January 2013, that (a) there should be a judge-led public inquiry into the case of Mark Kennedy and other related cases and (b) any such inquiry should give a voice to the women concerned and other victims and pave the way for reparations; and if she will make a statement.

Damian Green: The use of undercover officers remains an important investigative tool for the police in preventing and detecting serious and violent crime. The tactic has been independently reviewed by HM Inspectorate of Constabulary and the specific issues arising from the case of Mark Kennedy are currently the subject of litigation in the High Court and in the Investigatory Powers Tribunal. We therefore have no plans to hold a judge-led public inquiry into this or related cases.

UK Border Agency

Paul Maynard: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many cases the UK Border Agency's Case Assurance and Audit Unit has.

Mark Harper: In his letter to the Home Affairs Select Committee on 18 December 2012 the Chief Executive of the UK Border Agency stated that, as of 19 November 2012, there were 40,900 live legacy cases. The figure includes 33,900 asylum cases and 7,000 migration cases.

UK Border Agency

Paul Maynard: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department in what timeframe cases handled by the Case Assurance and Audit Unit of the UK Border Agency are expected to be completed.

Mark Harper: In his letter to the Home Affairs Select Committee on 18 December 2012 the Chief Executive of the UK Border Agency stated that, as of 19 November 2012, there were 40,900 live legacy cases. The figure includes 33,900 asylum cases and 7,000 migration cases.
	It is not possible to set a deadline for the conclusion of these cases, they are complex and require detailed consideration The UK Border Agency is concerned that the final checks made on these cases should be thorough and that they should not be rushed to meet an artificial deadline. In some cases conclusion will not be possible due to circumstances beyond the UK Border Agency's control.

Young Offenders: Greater London

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people in the Metropolitan Police area who were arrested were aged (a) 17, (b) 16, (c) 15, (d) 14, (e) 13, (f) 12, (g) 11 and (h) 10 in each year from 1997 to 2012.

Damian Green: Police forces are asked to supply the Home Office with arrests data according to the age groupings ‘under 10 years’, ‘10-17 years’, ‘18-20 years’, 21 years and over’ and ‘age unknown’. While the arrests data collection began in 1999-2000, it is only possible to present data broken down by age grouping and police force area from 2000-01. Latest available information therefore relates to arrests for notifiable offences of persons aged between 10 and 17 years for the financial years 2000-01 to 2010-11, and is shown in the table. Data for 2011-12 are scheduled to be published in the spring of 2013.
	
		
			 Arrests(1) of persons aged 10 to 17 years: Metropolitan Police Service, 2000-01 to 2010-11 
			 Financial year Number 
			 2000-01 43,737 
			 2001-02 41,221 
		
	
	
		
			 2002-03 37,394 
			 2003-04 39,297 
			 2004-05 40,027 
			 2005-06 43,534 
			 2006-07 50,384 
			 2007-08 45,617 
			 2008-09 42,379 
			 2009-10 42,468 
			 2010-11 42,064 
			 (1) For notifiable offences

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Jamaica

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the purpose was of the UK's loans to Jamaica in 1987 and 1993 on which £3.5 million is still owed; and whether these loans were tied to purchasing goods or services produced partly or wholly in the UK.

Alan Duncan: Records from this time are held in the archives and cannot be obtained in time for the deadline to this question. DFID has requested the relevant records to be retrieved. I will provide an answer as soon as the requested information is available.

Metropolitan Police

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much funding her Department allocated to the Metropolitan Police in (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12 and (c) 2012-13; how much she plans to allocate in future years; and if she will make a statement.

Alan Duncan: Since 2006 DFID has provided funding to the Metropolitan Police's Proceeds of Corruption Unit. They investigate cases of corrupt individuals using the UK to launder money stolen from developing countries. The money recovered can then be. returned to the developing country concerned.
	The following table shows funding DFID has provided in the two previous financial years. The Department is currently considering what further support we can provide for future years.
	
		
			 Financial year Actual funding (£) 
			 2010-11 702,000 
			 2011-12 760,000

UK Membership of EU

Heidi Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what contingency plans her Department (a) has made, (b) is making and (c) plans to make for UK withdrawal from the EU; whether those plans will be published; and what estimate she has made of the likely cost of implementing those plans.

Alan Duncan: The Department has not made any plans for the UK's withdrawal from the EU.

SCOTLAND

Directors

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what declarations of interest must be made by his Department's non-executive directors; with what frequency any such declarations are required to be made; and if he will make that information publicly available.

David Mundell: Declarations of interest are made by non-executive directors at the beginning of board meetings if appropriate. No declarations have been made by non-executive directors since the departmental board was enlarged to include non-executive directors.

Plants

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how much his Department has spent on indoor and outdoor plants and trees since his appointment.

David Mundell: Since 30 May 2010, the Scotland Office has spent £156.98 on indoor and outdoor plants and trees. All expenditure incurred is in accordance with the principles of Managing Public Money.

Recruitment

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how much his Department has spent on advertising job vacancies since May 2010.

David Mundell: The Scotland Office has incurred no expenditure on advertising job vacancies within the Department since May 2010.

TRANSPORT

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Michael Fabricant: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 23 January 2013, Official Report, column 296W, on High Speed 2 railway line, what estimate his Department made of (a) how many properties the Government would own as a result and (b) what the cost to the Exchequer would be of issuing a property bond along the route of High Speed 2 when such a measure was under consideration.

Simon Burns: The Government has used various modelling assumptions in order to assess HS2 property compensation policy options against each other on a consistent basis. It would not be in the public interest to provide details of key modelling assumptions and related outputs, because such details are likely to be misrepresented and to mislead prospective property buyers. This would risk undermining local property markets and creating unnecessary property blight.

Large Goods Vehicles

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  with reference to the research study by Huddersfield university on the use of heavier, longer HGVs on UK roads, published in November 2012, whether his Department will be producing a reviewed impact assessment on the use of such vehicles;
	(2)  what discussions officials from his Department have had with the authors of the Huddersfield university research study on the use of heavier, longer HGVs on UK roads, published in November 2012.

Stephen Hammond: The Department responded on 22 November 2012 to the letter of 7 November 2012 from David Leach, the lead author of the report. This set out the Department's position, including that it has already undertaken thorough research, a feasibility study and an impact assessment.
	The preferred 25.25m option of the Huddersfield report was ruled out in the research done by TRL for the Department. The TRL analysis was that these longer lorries would require a large capital investment, for example to adapt parking areas; result in increased CO2 emissions, mainly due to an expected shift from rail to road; and also have safety and infrastructure risks such as related to overtaking and junction blocking.
	The research showed that the 18.75m/44 tonne option was likely to give the greatest net benefit. They indicated there would be few, if any, additional safety risks or need to adapt parking facilities, a lower risk of mode shift from rail to road and less need for investment and regulatory changes.
	Therefore the trial of longer semi-trailers is based on the 18.75m/44 tonne lorries, and a shorter variant. The trial will validate whether the expected benefits of these longer trailers are realised.
	The Huddersfield report quotes as one of its main sources the TRL report, which was also the basis of our own analysis and impact assessment. The Department will therefore not be producing a reviewed impact assessment in the light of the research study by Huddersfield university.

Motorcycles: Driving Tests

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether, in formulating its proposals for an integrated motorcycle driving test, his Department has given consideration to the issue of Driver Standards Agency driving examiner liability in the event of an on-road manoeuvre causing a road traffic accident; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Hammond: Yes. In deciding whether to implement an on-road test, the Department will take into consideration legal issues relating to driving examiners.
	The Department has not yet formulated any firm proposals for making changes to the motorcycle test. A final decision on whether or not to take forward any changes will be taken after the research has concluded and the findings have been fully considered.
	There will be a full public consultation on any proposals for changing the motorcycle test.

Rescue Services

Andrew Love: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what steps he plans to take to ensure that the public interest is protected in the proposed privatisation of the helicopter search and rescue service; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what efforts are being made to ensure the retention of specialist skills within the helicopter sea and rescue service following privatisation of that service; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  what arrangements his Department has made to consult the public on plans to privatise the helicopter sea and rescue service; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Hammond: Helicopter search and rescue is not being privatised. The service under the future contracts will continue to be managed by HM Government, and tasking will remain a state activity. Bidders for the contracts have sustainable long term strategies for recruitment and skill retention to ensure today's high standards are maintained. Contracted helicopter search and rescue services have been operating very successfully in the UK since 1983. Extending the contracted arrangements to cover the whole of the UK will not lead to any change in the level of service delivered to the public. Public consultation was therefore neither appropriate nor necessary.

Roads: Accidents

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the average reduction in the number of people killed or seriously injured was on roads where average speed reduction cameras were deployed between 2008 and 2010.

Stephen Hammond: This information is not centrally held by the Department for Transport.
	The Department commissioned PA Consulting to carry out an evaluation of the effectiveness of safety cameras between 2000 and 2004. The latest evaluation report is available at
	http://assets.dft.gov.uk/publications/road-safety-guidance-/4_year_evaluation.pdf
	However, this evaluation did not specifically address average speed reduction cameras.
	Since the 2004 report, evaluation of safety cameras has been for the individual Safety Camera Partnerships, local authorities and police forces which operate the cameras. All data for safety cameras, including cameras operated by the Highways Agency, are made available on partnership websites.
	Further information on safety cameras, Safety Camera Partnerships and evaluations can be found in the House of Common's Library briefing note: "Roads: speed cameras" SN/BT/350 which is available at:
	http://www.parliament.uk/briefing-papers/SN00350

Rolling Stock

Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he is taking to replace Pacer rolling stock units on rail services in the north of England; and if he will make a statement.

Simon Burns: Rolling stock deployment is a matter for the train operators with the Government's role primarily focused on ensuring that this represents value-for-money when the taxpayer's interest is involved.
	It is therefore for Northern Rail and future franchise bidders to determine rolling stock requirements for routes within the franchise area.

Rolling Stock

Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the number of Pacer rolling stock units in use on rail services in the North of England.

Simon Burns: Northern Rail operates a total of 102 Class 14X ‘Pacer’ units.
	Information on the number of rolling stock is available from a number of industry publications such as ‘The Rolling Stock Guide’ by Ian Allan Publishing and associated trade magazines.

Youth Select Committee

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he will respond to the Youth Parliament's Select Committee Report of 5 November 2012.

Norman Baker: The Government will respond to the Youth Select Committee’s report, Transport and Young People, very shortly.

TREASURY

Personal Allowance

Nadhim Zahawi: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the effect of increases in the personal allowance.

Danny Alexander: Since 2010, the Government have announced successive increases in the personal allowance totalling £2,965.
	Taken together, these changes will benefit 25 million individuals and provide a real-terms gain of £443 to most basic rate taxpayers in 2013-14. Over 2.2 million individuals, with low incomes, will be taken out of income tax altogether.

Shale Gas

Mark Menzies: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what fiscal steps he plans to take to ensure that local communities benefit financially from any extraction of shale gas.

Sajid Javid: The Government are currently consulting on the tax regime for shale gas and will provide an update at Budget 2013.
	The Prime Minister has made clear that any future shale gas production would have to meet stringent safety and environmental standards and follow deep consultation with local communities. As has been demonstrated in the United States, a successful shale gas industry can benefit local communities in terms of jobs and investment.

Funding for Lending Scheme

Margot James: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the level of support for small businesses provided through the funding for lending scheme and other initiatives.

Greg Clark: Funding for lending is helping bring down the cost and increase the availability of loans for small businesses.
	Net lending by the 35 participating banks increased by £500 million in the third quarter of 2012.

Cost of Living

Oliver Colvile: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps he is taking to help people with the cost of living.

Danny Alexander: I refer the hon. Member to my earlier response to questions 4 and 5.

City Deals

Duncan Hames: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent progress he has made on the second wave of city deals.

Greg Clark: We invited 20 cities to put forward their proposals for a city deal with Government. We have worked closely with the cities over the last three months and on 15 January, I received initial proposals from all 20 cities. We are currently reviewing the propositions, and will be able to announce a decision shortly.

Bank Lending

David Wright: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent assessment he has made of the effect on economic growth of the level of bank lending to businesses.

Greg Clark: Funding for Lending, which began in August last year, is helping improve credit conditions for businesses by reducing interest rates, and improving the availability of credit to small businesses.

Infrastructure Investment

Eric Ollerenshaw: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent steps he has taken to increase the level of infrastructure investment.

Danny Alexander: I refer the hon. Member to the answer that the Chancellor of the Exchequer gave earlier today.

Corporate Tax Avoidance

Ian Swales: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to curb corporate tax avoidance.

David Gauke: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave earlier today.

Companies

Fiona O'Donnell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to improve transparency and information sharing amongst UK companies.

David Gauke: The UK is committed to increasing international tax co-operation and exchange of information. The UK's G8 Presidency will focus on strengthening international tax standards and working on greater international tax information exchange to tackle tax havens. This will build on the work that is already underway in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and maintain the momentum set by the G20.

Directors

Jon Trickett: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what declarations of interest must be made by his Department's non-executive directors; with what frequency any such declarations are required to be made; and if he will make that information publicly available.

Sajid Javid: The Treasury's non executive board members must declare to the Permanent Secretary, any personal or business interest which may, or may be perceived to influence their judgement in performing their functions and obligations. These interests include personal direct and indirect pecuniary interests and any such interests of close family members and/or of people living in the same household as the non executive or their close family members.
	Non executives are obliged to declare interests as they arise. However, declarations are formally sought and confirmed on an annual basis as part of the preparation of the Treasury's annual report and accounts.
	In line with the Corporate Governance Code, the Treasury publishes in the “Governance Statement” included in the annual report and accounts how any identified conflicts, and potential conflicts, of interest of board members have been managed.
	Interests declared by Baroness Sarah Hogg are as published by the Houses of Parliaments website. Subject to Data Protection Act guidelines, information held within the Register of Interest on Treasury's non executive board members will be released on request.

Excise Duties: Fuels

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to introduce a rural fuel duty rebate for rural parts of North Yorkshire.

Sajid Javid: Motorists on the Scottish islands and the Isles of Scilly are benefitting from the 5 pence per litre discount on pump prices since the Government introduced the rural fuel rebate pilot scheme last year.
	The Government will consider whether to seek EU approval for an extension of the scheme to other remote parts of the UK that are likely to display similar cost characteristics to the islands.

Government Actuary's Department

Tim Farron: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when the increased GAD rate will apply.

Sajid Javid: The change announced at autumn statement is subject to legislation being passed by Parliament as part of Finance Bill 2013. The Government published draft Finance Bill legislation on 17 January. It would allow individuals to choose to receive drawdown pension income up to 120% of an equivalent annuity for all drawdown pension years starting on or after 26 March 2013.

Housing: Construction

George Galloway: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will consider making available additional ring-fenced and time-limited capital funds for house-building to local authorities for the purposes of stimulating the economy.

Danny Alexander: This Government has made available additional funds to boost housing supply, including £4.5 billion investment in affordable housing to deliver 170,000 new homes over the course of this Parliament and a new and innovative £10 billion debt guarantee to support the building of private and affordable rented homes, alongside an additional £300 million to build 15,000 new affordable rented homes and bring 5,000 empty homes back into use.

Interception Warrants

Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer on how many occasions HM Revenue and Customs was given warrants to (a) intercept private personal emails and (b) listen to telephone calls in each of the last three years; and on how many occasions in each year it carried out such surveillance.

David Gauke: The Interception of communications commissioner (loCC) produces an annual report to the Prime Minister which is then presented to Parliament, and which includes a confidential annex. There is no breakdown of warrant statistics to individual public authorities in the public section of this report. loCC's inspectors visit HM Revenue and Customs twice a year to provide reassurance to the general public that our activities in sensitive areas such as warrants are overseen by an independent person who has held high judicial office. His reports are published on his website:
	http://www.ipt-uk.com/default.asp

Limited Liability

Stephen Barclay: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many exchange of information requests concerning limited liability partnerships or their members were received from each country or territory in (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12 and (c) 2012-13 to date.

David Gauke: Some of our treaty partners regard information about the number of requests made by them or to them as sensitive. I have therefore asked my officials to write to the relevant states to ascertain their views, and I will write to the hon. Member with additional detail in due course.
	The database recording this information notes only whether the request concerned a limited liability partnership and does not record whether the request concerned a member of a limited liability partnership.
	The total figures for requests received from all states about limited liability partnerships, for each of the years questioned are as follows:
	
		
			  Number of requests 
			 2010-11 48 
			 2011-12 43 
			 2012 (to 24 January 2013) 41

Money Laundering

Stephen Barclay: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  how many revocations of fit and proper person status relating to individuals working in each of the categories where such revocations can be made were made in (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12 and (c) 2012-13 to date;
	(2)  with reference to pages 1 and 2 of HM Revenue and Customs' 2010-11 Anti-Money Laundering report, (a) how many penalties were levied on each of the categories of operators listed under the supervisory population section and (b) what the value was of such penalties in (i) 2010-11, (ii) 2011-12 and (iii) 2012-13 to date; and what other sanctions were taken against each such category of operation;
	(3)  with reference to page 12 of the HM Revenue and Customs 2010-11 Anti-Money Laundering report, how many MLR145 reports were produced in (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12 and (c) 2012-13 to date; and to whom such reports were submitted.

David Gauke: There were 11 revocations of fit and proper status in 2010-11, 11 in 2011-12 and 34 to date in the current year.
	The number and value of penalties imposed by HMRC under the Money Laundering Regulations is shown in the following table:
	
		
			  2010-11 2011-12 2012 to date 
			 Sector Penalties Value (£) Penalties Value (£) Penalties Value (£) 
			 Accountancy Service Providers 82 19,010 166 42,904 121 39,616 
			 Accountancy Service Providers also registered as Trust & Company Service Providers 3 621 10 4,716 13 1,717 
			 High Value Dealers 10 2,610 48 24,605 37 18,485 
			 Money Service Businesses 9 9,818 28 35,000 10 10,729 
			 Trust & Company Service Providers 4 1,386 18 5,672 5 1,889 
			 Total 108 33,445 270 112,897 186 72,436 
		
	
	There were 65 MLR145 reports submitted in 2010-11,198 in 2011-12 and 169 in the current year. These reports contain information that HMRC supervisory staff need to pass on to others in HMRC or to external law enforcement bodies, depending on the nature of the material. The reports are handled by HMRC's Risk and Intelligence Service, who deal with intelligence flows within HMRC and to other law enforcement agencies.

Money Laundering

Stephen Barclay: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many (a) prosecutions were made by HM Revenue and Customs and (b) convictions were made (i) under the Money Laundering Regulations 2007 and (ii) in relation to any other money laundering offences in (A) 2010-11, (B) 2011-12 and (C) 2012-13 to date.

David Gauke: The number of prosecutions commenced in each year and the number of convictions in each year in relation to money laundering offences investigated by HMRC is shown in the following table (the prosecution is brought by the Crown Prosecution Service and not by HMRC). The figures for convictions/acquittals shown for each year do not necessarily relate to prosecutions commenced in that year.
	
		
			 Financial year Type of offence No. of defendants/prosecutions commenced No, of convictions in year No. of acquittals in year No. of individuals receiving a custodial sentence including suspended No. of individuals receiving a non-custodial sentence 
			 2010-11 Money Laundering Regulations 0 0 0 0 0 
			  Money Laundering other 24 18 5 18 0 
			        
			 2011-12 Money Laundering Regulations 0 0 0 0 0 
			  Money Laundering other 39 4 4 4 0 
		
	
	
		
			        
			 2012-13 Money Laundering Regulations 3 0 0 0 0 
			  Money Laundering other 14 5 2 5 0

Non-domestic Rates

Richard Graham: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he has given any consideration to freezing business rates.

David Gauke: Tax is a matter for the Budget. The Government's commitment to the annual RPI cap means that there has been no real terms increase in national non-domestic rates (NNDR) since 1990.

Personal Income

Frank Field: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish a distributional analysis of the effects on household income for each income decile of all the measures he has implemented since 2010.

David Gauke: In line with Government's commitment to transparency, HM Treasury published its distributional analysis of effects on household income of the measures implemented since 2010 in the Autumn Statement 2012 document and supplementary document Distributional Analysis, available at:
	http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/as2012_documents.htm
	HM Treasury has published this analysis at each fiscal event since June Budget 2010.
	The analysis contains changes to all the personal tax, welfare and public spending policy decisions (that can be modelled) since the June Budget 2010. As previously, the analysis is on a cumulative basis and so includes measures from each fiscal event since June Budget 2010. It also includes changes that were announced before June Budget 2010 which are being implemented by the Government. The autumn statement analysis shows the impact of tax and benefit changes by income and expenditure decile for 2013-14.
	Looking at the cumulative impact since June 2010 Budget of tax, tax credit and benefit reforms, households in the top 10% see the greatest reduction in their income, whether looking across the income or expenditure distribution. This is true both in cash and as a percentage of net income or expenditure.

Revenue and Customs

Nick Gibb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proportion of staff in HM Revenue and Customs' business tax units are over the age of 55.

David Gauke: The Business Tax Line of Business in HMRC has over 4,000 staff across the UK, delivering services for HMRC’s business customers. It also manages the design and delivery of taxes and duties that business customers pay.
	In the Business Tax area 18.02% of employees are over 55 years of age. The comparable figure in HMRC as a whole is 22.02%.

Revenue and Customs

Nick Gibb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many separate leadership and management courses HM Revenue and Customs provides for its staff.

David Gauke: HMRC uses the full range of leadership and management products provided by Civil Service Learning (CSL).
	Products on the Civil Service Learning curriculum include information guides, on-line tutorials, one day courses and development programmes. In total there are 4,526 products available for leaders/managers.
	New leaders and managers are required to undertake a pre-determined set of learning products in order to equip them with the skills and knowledge that they need to be excellent leaders and managers.

Revenue and Customs

John Robertson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the recent appointments to the management board of HM Revenue and Customs.

David Gauke: Appointments of non-executive directors to HM Revenue and Customs' main board are subject to regulation by the Commissioner for Public Appointments. All appointments follow the principle of selection based on merit and the use of an open and transparent recruitment process.
	The recently appointed non-executive directors were selected following the outcome of the public appointments process to identify appointable candidates for the posts of the Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee and a number of other board level non-executive posts.
	The responsibility for public appointments rests with Ministers. In the case of HMRC (as a non ministerial Department), the Office of the Commission for Public Appointments (OCPA) requires the Exchequer Secretary of the Treasury to make these regulated appointments from a recommended appointable list.
	I, as Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury, conveyed to the panel my views about the expertise, experience and skills of the candidates after reviewing the reports from the selection panel and through dialogue with the Public Appointments Assessor.
	I, as Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury, informed the Chancellor of the Exchequer of my decision before advising the Prime Minister.

Revenue and Customs

John Robertson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent discussions he has had with the Chief Executive and Permanent Secretary of HM Revenue and Customs on appointments to executive boards.

David Gauke: The Chancellor, the Chief Executive and the Permanent Secretary of HM Revenue and Customs meet regularly to discuss a range of topics.

Revenue and Customs: Training

Nick Gibb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many training courses were provided by HM Revenue and Customs in (a) 2010-11 and (b) 2011-12.

David Gauke: The number of training courses provided by HM Revenue and Customs for their staff in 2010-11 was 6,351. This figure is drawn from departmental learning management system and included both face to face courses and those delivered using virtual classroom technology.
	The number of training courses provided in 2011-12 was 6,764.

Revenue and Customs: Training

Nick Gibb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much HM Revenue and Customs spent on training and development in (a) 2010-11 and (b) 2011-12.

David Gauke: The amount spent on training and development in HMRC in 2010-11 was £96.50 million. This is the figure reported by the National Audit Office and covers the total costs of the development and delivery of learning. This includes costs for e-learning, face to face learning, and an estimated cost of coaching and mentoring.
	The service is delivered by a combination of learning staff within HMRC and by accessing the cross-Government Civil Service Learning offer.
	The amount spent on training and development in 2011-12 was £92.09 million, based on the same calculations used in 2010-11.

Tax Avoidance

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what costs have been recovered from PwC following the court decision in the case of Howard Peter Schofield v. the Commissioners for Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs.

David Gauke: The court has made an order for HMRC to recover costs from the taxpayer, not the taxpayer's representatives.

Tax Avoidance and Evasion

Frank Field: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer with reference to paragraph 2.105 of the 2012 autumn statement, what the result was of the consultation exercise on the use of the procurement process to deter tax avoidance and evasion and the proposed definition of any concepts; and if he will make a statement.

David Gauke: Cabinet Office and HMRC will shortly commence discussions with stakeholders on proposals to use the public procurement process to promote tax compliance.

Welfare Tax Credits

Stephen McCabe: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many complaints of each type from customers on tax credits HM Revenue and Customs has received in each (a) year and (b) month since 2010; and if he will make a statement.

Sajid Javid: Information about the number of complaints received by HM Revenue and Customs is not available in the format requested.
	Information on the number of complaints received in HMRC Benefits and Credits in each year and month since 2010 is shown in the following tables.
	
		
			  Number 
			 April 2009 1,800 
			 May 2,000 
			 June 2,200 
			 July 2,200 
			 August 1,800 
			 September 2,000 
			 October 2,000 
			 November 1,900 
			 December 1,300 
			   
			 January 2010 1,300 
			 February 1,300 
			 March 1,400 
			 Total 21,200 
		
	
	
		
			  Number 
			 April 2010 1,300 
			 May 1,100 
			 June 1,500 
			 July 1,600 
			 August 1,900 
			 September 2,300 
			 October 1,800 
			 November 1,700 
			 December 1,100 
			   
			 January 2011 1,300 
			 February 1,400 
			 March 1,500 
			 Total 18,500 
		
	
	
		
			  Number 
			 April 2011 1,200 
			 May 1,600 
			 June 2,000 
			 July 1,900 
			 August 1,900 
		
	
	
		
			 September 2,100 
			 October 2,000 
			 November 1,800 
			 December 1,300 
			   
			 January 2012 1,500 
			 February 1,600 
			 March 1,700 
			 Total 20,600 
		
	
	
		
			  Number 
			 April 2012 1,400 
			 May 1,900 
			 June 1,700 
			 July 1,800 
			 August 2,200 
			 September 1,800 
			 October 2,000 
			 November 2,000 
			 December 1,300 
			 Note: Rounded figures

WALES

Directors

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what declarations of interest must be made by his Department's non-executive directors; with what frequency any such declarations are required to be made; and if he will make that information publicly available.

Stephen Crabb: Non-executives must declare, to the Secretary of State or Director of the Wales Office, any personal or business interest which may, or may be perceived (by a reasonable member of the public) to influence their judgment in performing their functions and obligations. These interests include (without limitation), personal direct and indirect pecuniary interests and any such interests of close family members and/or of people living in the same household as the non-executive or their close family members.
	According to the Financial Reporting Manual (FReM) Departments are required to disclose the details of company directorships and other significant interests held by board members which may conflict with their management responsibilities.
	The Wales Office formally collects information from non-executives alongside other board members. This is carried out in conjunction with our Annual Report and Accounts; additionally non-executive members of the Wales Office Audit and Risk Assurance sub-Committee formally declare conflicts of interests and or potential conflicts verbally at the start of each meeting and annually as a formal agenda item.
	The Corporate Governance Code provides that the board should agree and document an appropriate system to record and manage conflicts and potential conflicts of interest of board members. These records are updated on an annual basis. As set out in the Code, the board should publish, in its governance statement, how any identified conflicts, and potential conflicts, of interest of board members have been managed.
	No incidents of a conflict and or potential conflict have been indentified in relation to Wales Office non-executives.

DEFENCE

Afghanistan

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans his Department has for the UK's fleet of Reaper drones when their current deployment in Afghanistan is complete in 2014.

Andrew Robathan: holding answer 25 January 2013
	The Reaper unmanned system was purchased as an urgent operational requirement for an armed intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capability for Operation Herrick.
	It will continue to be operated in support of UK ground forces in Afghanistan until the end of combat operations. No decisions have been taken on the longer term use of Reaper equipment after 2014.

Air Force

Andrew Love: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps his Department has taken to retain pilot training programmes through the development of additional pilot training contracts with other states; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Robathan: The requirement for trained pilots is being met within existing flying training programmes without the development of additional training programmes with other states.
	However, to maintain specialist skills: the Royal Navy, in partnership with the US Navy, have a programme designed to maintain carrier flying and aviation deck experience; and the Royal Air Force is participating in a ‘Seedcorn’ initiative, which sees Royal Air Force personnel flying routinely with allied maritime patrol forces, in order to sustain skills required for fixed-wing maritime patrol aviation.

Australia

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will place in the Library a copy of the treaty signed with Australia on 18 January 2013.

Andrew Murrison: The UK-Australia Defence Cooperation Treaty is the embodiment of the extremely close defence cooperation and collaboration between our two countries. I will lay the Treaty before the House in due course and in accordance with the normal procedures.

Defence: Procurement

Penny Mordaunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of changes to the implementation and effect of the equipment procurement and equipment support plans for (a) 2013-14, (b) 2014-15 and (c) 2015-16 that have been occasioned by the Autumn Statement 2012; and if he will make a statement.

Philip Dunne: The autumn statement made reductions in departmental resource budgets of 1% in 2013-14 and 2% in 2014-15. Because the Ministry of Defence (MOD) has, for the first time ever, included annual unallocated provisions in its budget, and because of exceptional flexibilities agreed with the Treasury, these reductions can be absorbed without impacting on the core defence equipment programme in 2013-14 and 2014-15. The budget for 2015-16 will be set out in the 2013 spending review.

Military Exercises

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many personnel and what assets took part in exercise Steadfast Noon 2012.

Andrew Murrison: Steadfast Noon 2012 was a NATO exercise designed to test procedures for aircraft operating from a deployed base. It is NATO policy not to disclose further details of such exercises.

NATO

Penny Mordaunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the policies of other NATO member states in respect of the transparency of their equipment procurement programmes; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Murrison: No assessment has been made of the transparency policies of other NATO member states' equipment procurement programmes.
	We have visibility of allies' procurement programmes through the NATO Defence Planning Process, NATO's Conference of National Armaments Directors, bilateral and multilateral initiatives such as Smart Defence and through international engagement, including use of the Defence Attaché network.

NATO

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what UK assets and personnel have participated in NATO's Snowcat programme in each of the last two years.

Andrew Murrison: SNOWCAT is Support to Nuclear Operations With Conventional Air Tactics—as such it is not a programme but a term used to describe a range of activities in support of a specific NATO mission.
	No UK assets have participated in SNOWCAT related training activities over the last two years. Serving UK military personnel assigned to posts in the Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) and the NATO International Military Staff work in roles both directly and indirectly in support of SNOWCAT.

Porton Down: Animal Experiments

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 18 December 2012, Official Report, column 602W, on animal experiments, how many (a) pigs, (b) rabbits, (c) monkeys and (d) rodents were used in procedures at the Porton Down facility in each year between 2009 and 2011.

Philip Dunne: The figures in the following table represent the number of procedures reported by Dstl involving animals, by type, from 2005 to 2011:
	
		
			  2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 
			 Rodents 20,872 16,866 18,101 12,203 8,177 9,148 9,650 
			 Rabbits 3 0 5 2 30 50 76 
			 Pigs 127 123 74 113 96 140 88 
			 Non-Human Primates 54 52 75 55 149 244 68 
			 Total 21,056 17,041 18,255 12,373 8,452 9,582 9,882 
		
	
	Each of these procedures has been undertaken in strict accordance with the terms of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986. Dstl Porton Down is licensed to conduct research involving animals by the Home Office.

Porton Down: Animal Experiments

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 18 December 2012, Official Report, column 621W, on Porton Down: animal experiments, how many procedures have been carried out under the six active project licences funded directly by US defence agencies; how many (a) pigs, (b) rabbits, (c) monkeys and (d) rodents have been used in such procedures; and what the severity level of each project licence is.

Philip Dunne: Currently, the animal work conducted at Dstl Porton Down that is directly funded by US Defence Agencies is covered by a total of six active Project Licences the earliest of which has been in place since 2009. It should be pointed out that these licences also cover elements of the Ministry of Defence funded research programme.
	The number of procedures returned to the Home Office under these licences since 2009 can be summarised as follows:
	
		
			  Pigs Rabbits Non-Human Primates Rodents 
			 2009 35 0 4 330 
			 2010 66 0 13 319 
			 2011 48 0 0 178 
			 2012 17 0 43 36 
			 Total 166 0 60 863 
		
	
	In terms of overall severity banding, three of the licences are substantial, two are moderate and one is mild.

Property

Alison Seabeck: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which sites owned by his Department have been sold since 2010; what type of development is planned on each such site; and what the capital receipts to his Department were of the sale of each site. [R]

Mark Francois: A copy of a list showing the land and property sold by the Ministry of Defence since 2010 will be placed in the Library of the House.
	The MOD usually consults with the local planning authorities and other stakeholders to achieve the optimum planning position for any site, particularly where there is redevelopment potential, such as for housing or commercial use, but details on the type of planned development is a matter for the purchaser and local planning authority not the MOD.
	The MOD does not normally publish individual sales receipts. The total sale proceeds accrued for each of the last two financial years (FY) is as follows:
	FY 2010-11—£50 million
	FY 2011-12—£86 million
	The figures for FY 2012-13 are still subject to audit and cannot yet be published.

RAF Molesworth

Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent discussions he has had with his US counterpart concerning the (a) Joint Analysis Center at RAF Molesworth and (b) involvement of the US African Command in this base.

Andrew Robathan: The Secretary of State for Defence, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), has not recently held discussions with US officials regarding the Joint Analysis Centre at RAF Molesworth or the involvement of US Africa Command at the base.

EDUCATION

Adoption

Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps he is taking to improve outcomes for adopted children in (a) Hendon, (b) London and (c) England.

Edward Timpson: We are determined to eradicate delays in the adoption system across the country. The evidence shows that a child's chances of adoption are reduced by almost 20% for every year they spend in care, and disruption to attachments formed early in life can have a lasting negative effect on outcomes. One of the main reasons for the delays in adoption is the lack of adopters.
	To address this issue the Department announced on 24 January that it is proposing to take a new legislative power that would allow the Secretary of State to require local authorities to seek approved adopters from other organisations. We will make decisions about the use of that power on the basis of evidence about the extent to which the local government sector is able to drive improvements itself.
	In order to improve local performance the Department has already published adoption scorecards for local authorities as part of a tougher approach to address underperformance. The local authority that contains my hon. Friend’s constituency was identified through an analysis of adoption scorecard data as an authority that were not meeting current thresholds for adoption timeliness.
	Departmental officials visited the authority, in December to discuss why delays are occurring and what plans are in place to reduce them. The Children's Improvement Board will carry out a diagnostic assessment of this authority's adoption services imminently, to assist them in identifying causes of delays and potential solutions.
	Similar visits have taken place at over 30 authorities since May 2012, with diagnostics carried out or imminent in around half of these. I should be clear that in authorities where I have been unconvinced by their ability to improve the service, I have put in place monitoring arrangements and in some cases I have issued an improvement notice. Should councils still not make the necessary changes over the time periods agreed, I am prepared to use statutory powers to intervene formally.
	We have also sought to address the issues of delay in the system through the development of a number of significant reforms that we have recently consulted on. These proposals include:
	establishing a National Gateway for Adoption;
	accelerating adopter assessment;
	reducing delays caused by insisting children and adopters are ethnically matched; and
	placing children with their potential adoptive parents earlier.
	We plan to introduce legislation at the earliest opportunity to implement these proposals.
	In addition to the substantial reforms that we are introducing, we are committed to supporting local authorities financially in taking immediate action to address the adopter shortage. We have chosen, therefore, to focus the £150 million Early Intervention Grant top-slice on adoption reform. This is in addition to the £8 million that the Government announced in additional funding in 2012/13, to help councils to implement the reform programme to improve adoption practice and adoption services in their areas.

Adoption

Jessica Lee: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps his Department is taking to ensure that local authorities have greater flexibility in spending their adoption improvement grant within each financial year.

Edward Timpson: The Government's £8 million Adoption Improvement Grant funding is intended to provide help to councils in their efforts to kick start improvement to adoption practice and adoption services in their areas. It is a one-off grant which is to be spent in the current financial year (2012/13), but which councils can use as they wish to address their immediate priorities in improving adoption services.
	In 2013/14, the Government is making available an Adoption Reform Grant of £150 million to local authorities to use in their children's services, with a specific focus on adoption reform. £100 million of the £150 million funding will not be ring-fenced and LAs will retain the discretion to use this funding to address their highest priority needs. £50 million will be ring-fenced and will need to be spent in the 2013/14 financial year in finding more adopters and addressing structural problems in adopter recruitment.

Apprentices

Dominic Raab: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much the Young Apprenticeships scheme costs annually per pupil; and what the comparable annual costs are for (a) educating a 14 to 16 year old entirely at school, (b) educating a 14 to 16 year old at a university technical college and (c) funding a 16 year old for a year-long apprenticeship.

Matthew Hancock: holding answer 25 January 2013
	For each Young Apprenticeship place, before the scheme closed in July 2012, we paid on average £3,200 per pupil annually, on top of standard school place costs. Young Apprenticeships were for young people aged 14 to 16 years old.
	Regarding the cost of funding a 14 to 16-year-old entirely at school, we do not set a national funding rate. Each local authority receives Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) funding from the Department for Education. In the 2013-14 financial year the DSG will be formed from three blocks of funding—the Schools block, the Early Years block and the High Needs block. The Schools block relates to funding for five to 16-year-olds in mainstream schools. For the financial year 2013-14, the average Schools block unit of funding in England is £4,550 per pupil.
	Funding for University Technical Colleges (UTCs) is the same as all other Academies. Academies receive school core funding which is calculated on a comparable basis to maintained schools in the same local authority. They also receive additional money to cover the cost of education services that the local authority provides to its maintained schools but which Academies are free to secure independently. The average comparable per pupil annual cost of educating a pupil at a UTC in the academic year 2012/13 was £6,370. How much is precisely allocated to 14 to 16-year-olds and between academic and technical subjects is a decision for each UTC and will vary on a school by school basis.
	The average cost of a mainstream Apprenticeship for a 16-year-old in academic year 2010/11 (the most recent year for which this information is available) was £3,034 excluding in-kind employer contributions.

Booktrust

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education which Ministers of his Department oversaw or contributed to his Department's decision on Government funding for Booktrust in 2013 to 2015.

Elizabeth Truss: holding answer 24 January 2013
	The decision to continue grant funding to Booktrust was taken on its own merits by the Secretary of State for Education, my right hon. Friend the Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove), on the basis of advice from officials. The advice was copied to the private secretaries of David Laws and Edward Timpson.

Children in Care

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps his Department is taking to improve outcomes for looked-after children in (a) Brigg and Goole constituency and (b) England.

Edward Timpson: holding answer 25 January 2013
	Improving all aspects of the lives of children in care are priorities for the Government. In October I wrote to all directors of children's services drawing particular, attention to the need to improve the support given to care leavers, and again last month to explain the steps being taken to support local authorities in raising the attainment of looked after children. While some local authorities are very effective in the support they provide to their looked after children, too many are not. We want all to come up to the standard of the best.
	At the national level, we are taking action a number of key areas. These include reforming the residential care system so that children in children's homes receive high quality care and support; improving the recruitment, retention and training of foster carers; improving the quality of support for care leavers as they make the transition to adulthood; and increasing the speed and number of adoptions.

Children: Day Care

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what estimate he has made of the proportion of (a) single parents and (b) couples that use (i) formal and (ii) informal childcare in (A) Hounslow, (B) London, (C) each region of the UK and (D) the UK.

Elizabeth Truss: holding answer 28 January 2013
	The Department's Childcare and Early Years Survey of Parents is the main source of estimates on this topic. Table 1 provides estimates of the use of childcare during a term time reference week in England and the English regions. Estimates for the UK or at local authority level are not available. The figures relate to 2010. The 2011 survey will be published on 31 January 2013.
	
		
			 Table 1: Parents of children aged 0-14 saying that they use childcare during a term time reference week by type of childcare, family type and English region 2010 
			  Couples Single parents All parents 
			  Formal Informal (%) Any (%) Formal (%) Informal (%) Any (%) Formal (%) Informal (%) Any (%) 
			 England 52 25 66 45 34 64 50 27 65 
			 London 44 11 51 41 12 47 43 11 50 
			 North East 52 43 71 41 51 76 49 45 72 
		
	
	
		
			 North West 48 24 62 47 34 66 48 26 63 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 54 34 71 37 40 62 50 36 68 
			 East Midlands 45 21 60 34 34 56 42 24 59 
			 West Midlands 48 24 63 50 39 71 49 28 65 
			 East of England 56 32 71 54 45 72 55 34 71 
			 South East 60 25 75 46 41. 73 57 29 75 
			 South West 60 29 73 49 41 71 57 32 73 
			 Note: The sum of ‘formal’ and ‘informal’ childcare percentages can be different to the use of ‘any’ childcare percentage because a proportion of parents report the use of both formal and informal childcare. Source: Childcare and Early Years Survey of Parents, 2010.

Children: Methadone

Meg Munn: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many children who were the subject of serious case reviews died from ingesting methadone in each of the last three years.

Edward Timpson: Since 10 June 2010 Local Safeguarding Children Boards (LSCBs) have published a total of 37 overview reports of serious case reviews (SCRs). These relate to SCRs both initiated and published since 10 June 2010. These include one death of a child from ingesting methadone, Bristol Child K, which was published 4 September 2012.
	In addition the Department is aware of approximately 120 executive summaries of SCRs which have been published by LSCBs since 10 June 2010. The Department does not hold data on which of these cases related to methadone ingestion.

Children's Centres

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how may (a) children's centres and (b) Sure Start centres have closed in (i) Hounslow, (ii) London, (iii) each region of the UK and (iv) total in each of the last three years.

Elizabeth Truss: holding answer 25 January 2013
	Information supplied by local authorities about Sure Start Children's Centres, as at 31 December 2012, shows the following information:
	
		
			 Closures for (i) Hounslow, (ii) London, (iii) each other English region 
			   Number of closures recorded by local authorities since April 2010 
			 (i) Hounslow 0 
			    
			 (ii) London 9 
			    
			 (iii) Other English regions  
			  East Midlands 0 
			  East of England 3 
			  North East 5 
			  North West 3 
			  South East 0 
			  South West 1 
			  West Midlands 8 
			  Yorks and Humber 0 
			 Total  29 
		
	
	
		
			 (iv) Total in each of the last three years 
			  Financial years April-March 
			  2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 
			 East Midlands 0 0 0 
			 East of England 0 0 3 
			 London 0 4 5 
			 North East 0 1 4 
			 North West 0 2 1 
			 South East 0 0 0 
			 South West 0 1 0 
			 West Midlands 0 2 6 
			 Yorks and Humber 0 0 0 
			 Total by financial year 0 10 19

Correspondence

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will place in the Library a copy of any written or email communication between Ministers, special advisers or officials in his Department and Henry Dimbleby or John Vincent.

Elizabeth Truss: The Secretary of State for Education, my right hon. Friend the Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove), agreed the terms of reference with the independent reviewers of school food, Henry Dimbleby and John Vincent. These were published on 4 July 2012 and are available at
	http://www.education.gov.uk/schoolfoodplan
	We will also lay a copy of these in the House Libraries and the findings of the review will be published later this year. Copies of the information requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Early Intervention Grant

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education 
	(1)  how much his Department plans to allocate to the Early Intervention Grant in (a) 2013-14 and (b) 2014-15;
	(2)  with reference to table 3: Transfers Affecting Formula Grant: 2012-13 and 2013-14 of the documents supporting the consultation on local government finance allocations published on 19 December 2012, for what reasons the value of the early intervention grant is less than that stated in the business rates retention technical consultation published in July 2012;
	(3)  for what reasons his Department has adjusted the value of the early intervention grant in 2012-13 to £1,919.4 million;
	(4)  pursuant to the answer of 17 December 2012, Official Report, column 559W, on early intervention funding, how much his Department plans to hold back in (a) 2013-14 and (b) 2014-15.

Elizabeth Truss: holding answers 7 and 9 January 2013
	The Early Intervention Grant (EIG)—along with a number of other central Government grants—will from 2013-14 become part of the new local government funding scheme (the Business Rates Retention scheme). The EIG allocation for local authorities will be visible within Business Rates Retention funding in 2013-14 and 2014-15.
	The Department for Communities and Local Government published a number of documents as part of the Local Government Finance Settlement on 19 December 2012. As part of this, the value of the Early Intervention Grant (EIG) in 2012-13 was notionally adjusted to enable a like for like comparison with 2013-14 and 2014-15, when funding for two-year-old early education and the funding centrally retained to support early intervention will not form part of the EIG. These were included in the EIG in 2012-13. The total amount of grant local authorities will receive in 2012-13 will not be affected by the 19 December announcement.
	As the Secretary of State for Education, my right hon. Friend the Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove), has previously explained, the overall funding for early intervention is increasing, from £2.2 billion in 2011-12 to £2.5 billion in 2014-15. The transfer of funding for early education for two-year-olds from lower income households from the EIG to the Dedicated Schools Grant reduced the size of the EIG from 2012-13 to 2013-14. However, this funding is still allocated to local authorities. In 2013-14 the total EIG itself will be £1,708,918,200, and in 2014-15 it will be £1,600,026,400. The value of the early intervention grant has been reduced in 2013-14 by 1% as a result of the 1% reduction to Departments' resource budgets announced at the autumn statement, and by 2% in 2014-15 as a result of the 2% reduction in the Department's resource budgets in that year.
	It is not possible for the Department to comment upon the answer of 17 December 2012, Official Report, column 559W, as this does not relate to departmental policies. However, pursuant to the answer of 17 December 2012, Official Report, column 580W, on early intervention funding, I can confirm that as previously announced £150 million will be retained in 2013-14 and 2014-15 to support early intervention.
	The Government has now announced that this will be returned to local authorities in 2013-14 in the form of a one-off Adoption Reform Grant. This funding will provide financial support for adoption to improve the recruitment and approval of adopters, provide better support for them, and tackle the backlog of over 4,600 children waiting to be adopted. A written ministerial statement from the Under-Secretary of State for Children and Families, my hon. Friend the Member for Crewe and Nantwich (Mr Timpson), on 24 January 2012, Official Report, columns 20-22WS, announced this package of funding for the adoption system.

Freedom of Information

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many people are employed by his Department to monitor and respond to requests made under the Freedom of Information Act 2000; what level of training each such member of staff has received; and if he will make a statement.

Elizabeth Truss: holding answer 25 January 2013
	Responding to requests under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA) is part of the day-to-day work of all officials within the Department. All staff are required to complete annual mandatory “Protecting Information training”, and be accredited to Level 1. They are supported by a team of 4.8 (full-time equivalent) staff providing advice, training, support and monitoring on all aspects of FOIA related work, including request casework and policy. Online guidance on the operation of the FOIA is also available to all staff.

GCE AS-Level

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education pursuant to the statement made by the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Education of 23 January 2013, Official Report, columns 315-26, on A-level Reform, if he will publish details of the advice that has been provided to his Department on the reform of AS level qualifications from (a) The Russell Group, (b) Universities UK and (c) 1994 Group.

Elizabeth Truss: holding answer 28 January 2013
	I, the Secretary of State for Education, my right hon. Friend the Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove), and officials in the Department have spoken to a range of university representatives, including the Russell Group, Universities UK and 1994 Group to discuss A level reform. These groups, and Higher Education Institutions affiliated to them, may also have responded to Ofqual's public consultation on proposed changes to A levels.

GCE AS-Level

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education pursuant to the Statement made by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education of 23 January 2013, Official Report, columns 315-26, on A-level reform, whether his reforms of AS levels constitute a ministerial instruction to Ofqual.

Elizabeth Truss: holding answer 28 January 2013
	The Secretary of State for Education, my right hon. Friend the Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove), wrote to the Chief Regulator on 22 January 2013 asking Ofqual to have regard to his policy of reforming AS levels. Section 129(6) of the Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Act 2009 provides that in performing its functions Ofqual must have regard to such aspects of government policy as the Secretary of State may direct. Under the provisions of the Act, this letter constitutes a direction to Ofqual.

GCSE

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what proportion of children on free school meals have been in the bottom quintile of achievement of five A*-C GCSEs including English and mathematics in each local authority in England in each of the last five years.

Elizabeth Truss: Information on the proportion of children on free school meals in the bottom quintile of achievement of five A*-C GCSEs including English and mathematics cannot be produced.
	Within the set of pupils achieving 5 or more GCSEs at grade A* to C (or equivalent) including English and mathematics GCSEs (or iGCSEs), no established methodology exists to enable ranking of pupils by performance, therefore pupils cannot be separated into quintiles of achievement.
	Information on the percentage of children eligible for free school meals achieving 5 or more GCSEs at grade A* to C (or equivalent) including English and mathematics GCSEs (or iGCSEs) in each local authority for 2006/07 to 2011/12 is available in table 5 of the Statistical First Release (SFR) 'GCSE and equivalent attainment by pupil characteristics in England, 2011/12'. You can find the SFR at the following link:
	http://www.education.gov.uk/researchandstatistics/statistics/allstatistics/a00219200/gce-and-equivalent-attainment-

GCSE

Gavin Shuker: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what proportion of looked-after children achieved five A* to C grades at GCSE level in each year since 2010 in each local authority area.

Edward Timpson: Table LA3 in the Statistical First Release 'Outcomes for Children Looked After by Local Authorities in England, as at March 2012' shows the percentage of children in each local authority who have been looked after continuously for at least 12 months and achieved five A* to C GCSEs and equivalents in the last five years. This Statistical First Release can be found on the Department's website via the following link:
	http://www.education.gov.uk/researchandstatistics/statistics/a00217266/outcomes-children-looked-after-las-england-march-2012

Mathematics: Education

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what plans he has to encourage the study of mathematics post-16; and if he will make a statement.

Elizabeth Truss: We are committed to encouraging the study of mathematics post-16. In June 2011 the Secretary of State for Education, my right hon. Friend the Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove), set out a goal, that the vast majority of students would study mathematics to the age of 18 within a decade.
	We have already announced that from September 2014 all students without a grade C or above in GCSE mathematics at age 16 will be required to continue to study towards a level 2 mathematics qualification.
	We are funding the Further Mathematics Support Programme to improve take-up of Further Mathematics A-level and are funding Cambridge University and Imperial College to strengthen A-level mathematics curricula and teaching. In addition we are supporting Maths in Education and Industry (MEI) to develop a new mathematical problem solving curriculum and working with the Advisory Committee on Mathematics Education on recommendations for new mathematics qualifications.

Pre-school Education: Finance

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much was allocated to each local authority for free entitlement to nursery education in each of the last five years; and how much such funding was spent on that entitlement in each local authority area in each such year.

Elizabeth Truss: Local authorities are funded for the free entitlement to early education for three and four-year-olds through the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG), which supports the majority of education provision for children aged three to 16. The Department calculates a total amount of DSG for each local authority and distributes it to them—but does not separately identify an amount of funding for early education for three and four-year-olds. All decisions about the amount of DSG to be spent on early education are made by local authorities, in consultation with their Schools Forum.
	Local authorities report on their financial expenditure through section 251 returns. These returns are published on the Department's website. Section 251 returns for the previous five year are available at:
	http://www.education.gov.uk/schools/adminandfinance/financialmanagement/schoolsrevenuefunding/section251/archive
	Additionally, the Department has recently published a foundation years benchmarking tool containing information about early years services in each local authority—including data on funding for free early education. This provides more detail on local authority planned spending, including a break down of planned spending to a per pupil level. The benchmarking tool can be accessed from the Department's website
	http://www.education.gov.uk/childrenandyoungpeople/earlylearningandchildcare/delivery/b00211546/foundation-years-benchmarking-tool
	From 2013-14 funding to extend early education places for two-year-olds from lower income households will be included in the Dedicated Schools Grant. The Government announced additional funding allocations to local authorities on 27 November 2012. Details can be accessed on the Department's website:
	http://www.education.gov.uk/childrenandyoungpeople/earlylearningandchildcare/delivery/Free%20Entitlement%20to%20Early%20Education/b0070114/eefortwoyearolds/la-funding-allocations

Schools: Food

Roberta Blackman-Woods: To ask the Secretary of State for Education pursuant to the answer of 10 December 2012, Official Report, column 101W, on schools: food, what work the external consultants will undertake on behalf of the School Food Plan.

Elizabeth Truss: The independent reviewers carrying out the School Food Plan have engaged external consultants—OC&C Strategy Consultants—to support their work. These consultants have undertaken a range of work to inform the reviewers' recommendations. They have focused particularly on data analysis and options development, alongside the Department for Education team supporting the reviewers.

Schools: Food

Roberta Blackman-Woods: To ask the Secretary of State for Education pursuant to the answer of 10 December 2012, Official Report, column 101W, on schools: food, which external consultants are supporting the School Food Plan; how much they are being paid; and which organisations or individuals have contributed to the cost of employing them.

Elizabeth Truss: The independent reviewers carrying out the School Food Plan engaged OC&C Strategy Consultants to support their work. The Department has not contracted with, and is not paying for, these consultants and therefore cannot provide further information on this.

Schools: Public Footpaths

Nigel Adams: To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether his Department has made an assessment of the risk to children posed by public footpaths crossing school playing fields or running adjacent to them.

David Laws: No such assessment has been made. Under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, the employer in a school has an overall responsibility to take reasonable steps to ensure that staff and pupils are not exposed to risks to their health and safety. These steps include assessing all potential risks and what measures should be considered to counter those risks.

Senior Civil Servants

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many and what proportion of officials of the three most senior grades in his Department have (a) resigned, (b) taken voluntary early retirement, (c) left the Department for alternative employment, (d) been dismissed, (e) taken long-term sick leave and (f) taken administrative leave since May 2010.

Elizabeth Truss: Figures for the Department are as follows:
	
		
			  SCS band 3(1) SCS band 2 SCS Band 1 
			  Number (2)% Number (2)% Number (2)% 
			 (a) Resigned 2 40 5 21 5 5 
			 (b) Taken VER 0 0 3 12 9 9 
			 (c) Left for alternative employment(3) 1 20 3 12 11 11 
			 (d) Been dismissed 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 (e) Taken long term sick leave 0 0 2 8 6 6 
			 (f) Taken administrative leave(4) 1 20 3 12 4 25 
			 (1 )This figure included the Permanent Secretary. (2 )The % figure is based on the number of staff at May 2010. (3 )This figure is for staff that have transferred to other Government Departments or reached the end of a loan period. Staff that have left to take up private employment are included under 'resigned'. (4 )We don't recognise the term administrative leave. We have provided figures that include periods of maternity, paternity, and other special leave.

Special Educational Needs

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many hon. Members have (a) submitted parliamentary questions and (b) written to him on the local offer in the forthcoming Children and Families Bill.

Edward Timpson: I understand that six hon. Members have asked questions specifically about the local offer. In addition records in my Department indicate that as at 16 January 2013, 270 hon. Members had written on matters relating to the local offer since draft legislation on SEN reform was published in September.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Agriculture

Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will consider changing his Department's name to reflect the influence of agriculture in its work.

Richard Benyon: There is no plan to change the Department's name.

Agriculture: Subsidies

Tom Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent representations he has made to (a) his European counterparts and (b) the European Commission regarding farms which raise bulls for bull fighting receiving indirect payments through the Single Payment scheme under the common agricultural policy.

David Heath: No such representations have been made recently. Although it is theoretically possible that some farms raising bulls for bullfighting do receive payments under the Single Payment scheme, these payments are directly related to the amount of land owned and not to the type of farming. Therefore, the issue is difficult to address.

Bees: Insecticides

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent assessment he has made on the effects of the use of pesticides on the bee population; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will reconsider the Government's policy on the use of neonicotinoid pesticides in light of the European Food Safety Authority's ruling them an unacceptable danger to bees.

Dan Rogerson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the dangers posed to bees by the neonicotinoid insecticides clothianidin, imidacloprid and thiamethoxam.

Stephen McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will issue new guidance to farmers following the assessment of the European Food Safety Authority on the risks posed by neonicotinoid insecticides on the survival and development of bee colonies.

Richard Benyon: Pesticides are tightly regulated in the UK in accordance with EU pesticides legislation and neonicotinoid insecticide products authorised for use in the UK meet the current standards set by the regulatory system. Legal restrictions are in place to limit the exposure of bees to these products. A code of practice is in place for professional pesticide users, such as farmers, on how and when pesticides are used so as to minimise the impact on bees. All pesticide users must comply with all the conditions of a product's authorisation which will include limitations on the use to a specific situation(s)/crop(s) along with application rates and timings, and where appropriate, the inclusion of specific risk mitigation measures on product labels to protect bees.
	The Government has taken research on effects on bees seriously and we have not assumed that the existing controls are sufficient. We have carried out our own research into the impact of neonicotinoids on bees and are waiting for the results of work including a field study on bumble bees. This research will be reviewed by the independent Advisory Committee on Pesticides and their advice on the evidence will be considered by the Government. If it is concluded that restrictions on the use of neonicotinoids are necessary, they will be brought in.
	UK experts are also participating in work in Europe to develop the risk assessment process for bees and to update the evaluations of neonicotinoids. Alongside our current work we are carefully considering the recent reports published by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) which review the risk assessments for three neonicotinoids (clothianidin, imidacloprid, and thiamethoxam) following a mandate from the European Commission. The reports consider the risks to bees from these insecticides and conclude that more data is needed to update the current risk assessments. As the EFSA makes clear in the reports, the assessments were carried out using existing regulatory data against new requirements which have yet to be agreed, and which reflect developments in regulatory science. Our initial view is therefore that the conclusions are to be expected (although we have raised concerns with the EFSA that these conclusions are not accurately represented in their accompanying Press Release). The EFSA reports will be considered by the European Commission who will decide whether to make a proposal for further regulation.

Bees: Insecticides

Stephen McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what restrictions, warnings and safeguards exist on the sale and use of imidacloprid in this country.

Richard Benyon: Pesticide products containing imidacloprid meet the current standards set by the regulatory system and legal restrictions are in place to limit the exposure of bees to these products. The conditions of authorisation of imidacloprid products in the UK, as for all pesticide products, include limitations on the use to a specific situation(s)/crop(s) along with application rates and timings. These conditions, and advice on meeting them, are always on the product label. The authorisations for imidacloprid products also recognise the potential risk to bees by requiring product labels to include specific risk mitigation measures needed to protect bees according to the product use.
	By law, professional pesticide users must be certificated and take all reasonable precautions when using pesticides to protect people and the environment. Pesticides must only be applied to the “land, crop, structure, material or other area being treated”. A code of practice for all professional pesticide users also provides guidance on minimising the exposure of bees.

Bees: Insecticides

Mark Spencer: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment his Department has made of the recent report published by the Humboldt Forum for Food and Agriculture on the socio-economic benefits of neonicotinoid pesticides.

David Heath: DEFRA and the Health and Safety Executive's Chemicals Regulation Directorate (as the pesticides regulatory authority) are working to understand better the wider environmental and agronomic implications of possible restrictions on neonicotinoid insecticides. This includes consideration of the implications of alternative pesticides or pest control measures being used. We are considering the report of the Humboldt Forum for Food and Agriculture on the value of neonicotinoid seed treatment in the European Union in this context. The report provides a broad perspective on the current role of neonicotinoids.

Bovine Tuberculosis

Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether he has any plans to begin a badger cull in the original cull pilot areas of Gloucestershire and North East Somerset.

David Heath: Badger culling will be piloted in two areas this summer. We are working with the farming industry to ensure the pilots can be implemented effectively in 2013, in the best possible conditions, with the right resources.
	Natural England issued West Somerset and Gloucestershire with licences for two badger cull pilots in 2012 and these licences remain valid.

Bovine Tuberculosis

Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the compatibility of Natural England's advice to people carrying out the badger cull to avoid shooting near footpaths for public safety reasons with the mandatory requirement for them to access at least 70 per cent of the total land area.

David Heath: The Best Practice Guidance for the Badger Control Policy states that “care must be taken, in selecting sites for shooting to avoid shooting if there is any risk of accidental injury to humans e.g. near rights of ways.” This is in line with the Standardised Operating Procedures from the Randomised Badger Culling Trial (RBCT), on which evidence the policy is based. In the RBCT, cage traps were not located on or near footpaths but this did not exclude this land from the total land area accessible for shooting.

Dangerous Dogs

Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when he plans to make an announcement on tackling irresponsible dog ownership.

David Heath: The Government will be making an announcement on a way forward on this issue shortly.

Farms: Floods

Nigel Adams: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment his Department has made of the effect that (a) removal of hedges to create larger fields, (b) converting from pasture to arable farming and (c) other changes in farming practice have on the rate of run-off from fields during periods of heavy rain and the extent to which this increases the severity of flooding.

Richard Benyon: DEFRA has not made an assessment of those specific changes. However, research has been commissioned into the effects of wider rural land management change on flood risk. This concludes that while such changes may have local effects on flooding, there is no evidence of catchment scale impacts and any such effects are very difficult to measure and will vary from place to place. The following reports provide more details and can be found on the DEFRA website. The reports are: "Analysis of historical datasets to look for impacts of land use and management change on flood generation" and "Review of impacts of rural land use and management on flood generation: short term improvement in modelling and research plan".

Food: Safety

Joan Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what resources are available to (a) his Department and (b) other Government Departments to ensure a resilient network of public sector inspectors and specialist laboratories is in place to ensure compliance with food health and food labelling legislation; and if he will make a statement.

David Heath: The UK food control arrangements are set out in the UK Multi-Annual National Control Plan published on the Food Standards Agency website.
	The Food Standards Agency (FSA) monitors local authority official control activity levels through an annual return, available at:
	http://www.food.gov.uk/multimedia/pdfs/board/fsa121106.pdf
	2011-12 returns from the 434 UK local authorities monitoring food hygiene and safety controls in these establishments indicate there were 2,709 full-time equivalent (FTE) professional staff engaged in this work—1,869 staff involved in food hygiene controls, and 840 in food standards controls such as composition and labelling.
	LA annual returns to the FSA confirmed that they took 78,653 food samples, which underwent 92,181 analyses by Official Control Laboratories in 2011-12. These included:
	18,219 compositional samples
	11,879 samples of food for labelling and presentation
	55,546 microbiological samples.
	In the UK, official feed and food laboratories include Public and Agricultural Analyst Laboratories and other microbiological laboratories, which undertake work for local authorities (food examiners). The FSA is responsible for designating the majority of official feed and food control laboratories in the UK as required by Regulation (EC) 882/2004. The Food Standards Agency does not own or operate any of these laboratories.

Fracking

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the toxicity level of chemicals used or proposed for use in Cuadrilla Resources hydraulic fracturing operations.

Richard Benyon: An assessment of the toxicity of those substances that have been used for the hydraulic fracturing for shale gas has been undertaken in accordance with the requirements of the Groundwater Daughter Directive, This was done via a UK-wide group involving the UK environment agencies and the Environmental Protection Agency of the Republic of Ireland, known as JAGDAG (Joint Agencies Groundwater Directive Advisory Group). The group oversees interim assessments and gains peer review of the assessments within the UK agencies before formal determinations are consulted upon and adopted, with amendments where necessary.
	All the chemicals that companies planning fracking operations propose for use will be reviewed for classification into hazardous or non-hazardous. The Environment Agency has reviewed the chemicals proposed by Cuadrilla for the Lancashire exploration (gluteraldehyde and polyacrylamide) and is satisfied that they can be classified as non-hazardous under the Groundwater Daughter Directive. Chemicals which have been suggested for use for hydraulic fracturing for coal bed methane exploration will also be subject to the same review should they be formally proposed for use.

Grants

Margaret Curran: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what grant-giving programmes are operated by (a) his Department and (b) the bodies for which he is responsible; and which such programmes award grants in Scotland.

Richard Benyon: The grant programmes run by core DEFRA, its Executive Agencies and executive non-departmental public bodies are set out as follows. These include grants awarded competitively and those that were a direct award.
	Under the EU Promotion (of Agricultural Products) Scheme, trade bodies from all parts of the UK including Scotland are eligible to apply for co-funding from the internal market promotion scheme. The Rural Payments Agency handles the administration of this European commission scheme. This scheme and the Fisheries Challenge Fund administered by the Marine Management Organisation are the only ones as follows which award grants in Scotland.
	Most of the remaining grants listed as follows cover areas which are devolved functions and so any similar work in Scotland would be administered directly by the Scottish Government. Other grants listed are for work carried out under DEFRA's international commitments.
	Core DEFRA
	Competitive Grant Awards
	Cities Climate Adaptation
	Darwin Initiative
	Household waste reduction reward and recognition scheme (Phase 2)
	Air Quality Grant Scheme
	Rural Growth Network Scheme
	Direct Grant Awards
	Catchment Restoration Fund
	Investor Carbon Disclosure Project 2012
	Water Framework Directive Invasive Non-Native Species local Action Group Fund
	Sustainable Development Case Studies from Olympic Games
	The Severe Weather Impacts Monitoring System (SWIMS)
	Flagship Species Fund
	Action on Overheating in Homes Programme
	Farm Crisis Network for the provision of business advice to farmers
	Carbon Disclosure Project Water Supply Chain
	National Contact Point Competitiveness and Innovation for Eco-Innovation
	Rural Payments Agency
	Competitive Grant Awards
	Internal Market Promotion Scheme
	Direct Grant Awards
	Rural Development Programme for England (except those run by Natural England or the Forestry Commission)
	Single Payment Scheme
	Natural England
	Competitive Grant Awards
	Nature Improvement Areas
	Access to Nature
	National Trails
	Direct Grant Awards
	Special Scientific Interest Wildlife/Conservation Enhancement grants
	Rural Development Programme for England:
	Catchment Sensitive Farming
	Paths for Communities
	Environment Agency
	Direct Grant Awards
	Coastal Protection Projects to Local Authorities
	Flood Risk Projects to Local Authorities and Internal Drainage Boards
	Property Resilience grants to Local Authorities
	Grants to Local Authorities for the purposes of the Contaminated Land Capital Grants Scheme (Section 31 Local Government Act 2003)
	Catchment Restoration Grants for the Water Framework Directive to Civil Society Groups (Section 70(1) Charities Act 2006)
	Marine Management Organisation
	Direct Grant Awards
	European Fisheries Fund
	Fisheries Challenge Fund
	National Forest Company
	Competitive Grants
	Programme Development Fund
	Direct Grant Awards
	Changing Landscapes Scheme
	Parkland & Wood Pasture Scheme
	Freewoods Scheme

Insecticides: Health Hazards

Glyn Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether his Department has made a recent assessment of the potential for harm to human health of the use of neonicotinoid insecticides.

Richard Benyon: Before any insecticide is authorised there is a thorough assessment of its potential effects on human health, based on a range of scientific tests. This assessment takes account of the different circumstances in which people may be exposed to pesticides—either by being in or near the treated area or by eating treated food. Safety for people is established by a suitably high margin between likely exposure and no effect doses in experimental animals. Products are not authorised if the exposure estimates are above the safe levels.
	Neonicotinoid insecticides meet all the requirements for authorisation in terms of risks to human health.
	The impacts of neonicotinoids on insects largely result from their strong binding to nicotinic receptors. The data strongly suggest that the binding of neonicotinoids to mammalian nicotinic receptors is much weaker than to insect receptors. In addition, scientific studies show that neonicotinoids are not as potent in vertebrates (including humans) as they are in insects. Although this does not mean there are no effects in mammals, there is a large margin between doses required to kill insects and doses of potential concern for people.

Livestock: Transport

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 8 January 2013, Official Report, column 207W, on livestock: transport, on which occasions the Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency has (a) reported, (b) investigated and (c) prosecuted suspected breaches of welfare.

David Heath: The Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency (AHVLA) is not the authority responsible for investigating or prosecuting such incidents. AHVLA works with local authority Trading Standards Departments which will, if they deem it appropriate, carry out any investigations and take forward prosecutions. AHVLA has reported four incidents of suspected breaches of welfare by transporters going through the port of Ramsgate to local authorities since 2010 for investigation.

Livestock: Transport

Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will work with his EU counterparts to secure an EU-wide ban on the live transportation of animals for slaughter.

David Heath: The Government would prefer to see a trade in meat and germplasm rather than in live animals. However, it cannot ban what is a legitimate trade. In addition, from the exchange of views expressed at the Agriculture Council meeting on 18 June 2012, on the report made by the EU Commission on the impact of the legislation on the welfare of animals during transport (Council Regulation (EC) 1/2005) it is clear that there would be little or no support among other member states if the UK sought to introduce such a ban within the EU.

Members: Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when he plans to answer the letter sent to him by the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton on 31 October 2012 with regard to Ms E Woolry.

David Heath: The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the right hon. Member for North Shropshire (Mr Paterson), replied to the right hon. Member's letter on 17 January 2013. I apologise for the delay.

Metropolitan Police

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much funding his Department allocated to the Metropolitan police in (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12 and (c) 2012-13; how much he plans to allocate in future years; and if he will make a statement.

Richard Benyon: DEFRA has not allocated any funds to the Metropolitan police in those years and has no current plans to do so in the future.

Milk: Prices

Heather Wheeler: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the average milk price paid to (a) British dairy farmers and (b) dairy farmers in other EU member states has been in each of the last five years; and what price is currently paid to those farmers.

David Heath: Annual average farmgate milk prices since 2007 can be found in the following table. The price shown for the EU is for all member states.
	Annual average farmgate price
	
		
			  UK pence per litre(1) UK £ per 100kg UK € per 100kg(2) EU € per100 kg(3, 4) 
			 2007 20.66 20.06 29.32 31.93 
			 2008 25.91 25.16 31.68 34.67 
			 2009 23.71 23.02 25.84 26.43 
			 2010 24.65 23.94 27.90 30.51 
			 2011 27.35 26.56 30.60 33.97 
			 Sources: (1 )DEFRA (2 )OANDA historic exchange rates (3 )DG Agri (4 )For 2007 and 2008 EU figures are EU 15 and thereafter EU 27 
		
	
	The most recent milk price figures available for both UK and the EU are for October 2012. This shows a UK average of 35.02 € per 100kg, which was above the EU27 average of 33.03 € per 100kg.
	The most recent DEFRA milk price data shows the average UK price increased to a record level of 30.02 ppl for November 2012.

Schmallenberg Virus

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate he has made of the effect on the economy of projections on the spread of Schmallenberg virus in the UK.

David Heath: DEFRA economists have predicted from epidemiological assessments that if 5% of sheep farms from the midlands south were found to be positive for Schmallenberg virus (SBV) affected malformed lambs with an in-flock prevalence of 10%, the costs to industry are estimated to be around £1 million. From infection that occurred in 2011, on-farm prevalence of malformations in lambing in spring 2012 has been 2-5%, and the regional prevalence of SBV across sheep farms in affected member states is estimated to be 6%.
	There are currently no import or export bans for the UK. This is not a notifiable disease and as such trade bans are not appropriate. The Commission has issued a statement to reinforce this. However, several third country authorities have put additional requirements on exports of live ruminant and ruminant products, excluding milk products, which is having an impact on the export of germplasm.
	At first there were some third country impacts, but these have mainly been resolved through bilateral agreements to provide some pre-export testing. However, the UK only has a limited export market for live cattle and sheep, so this is mainly impacting on the limited number of companies which export germplasm. We are continuing to work with the Commission and industry to support our exports.

Slaughterhouses

Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many horse passports were submitted to UK abattoirs prior to slaughter in each of the last four years.

Anna Soubry: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Department of Health.
	The following table provides details of the number of horses with passports that were slaughtered in UK abattoirs in the last four years:
	
		
			  Number of horses with passports that were slaughtered in UK abattoirs in the last four years 
			 2009 5,100 
			 2010 8,854 
			 2011 9,011 
			 2012 9,405

Trees

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate he has made of the abatement cost of mixed woodland planting; and what comparative assessment he has made of this cost and the estimated cost of carbon capture and storage for coal.

David Heath: Published values of the cost-effectiveness of woodland creation as an emissions abatement measure are typically in the range £0 to £100 per tonne CO2e. However, evaluating cost-effectiveness of woodland creation is highly complex and these values may therefore not be directly comparable with those for carbon capture and storage. For this reason, a contract has recently been let to develop a Marginal Abatement Cost Curve for woodland creation in the UK, fully consistent with Treasury guidance, to ensure that robust comparisons can be made in the future.

Trees

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the forest planting rates were for the UK in each year from 1983 to 2012.

David Heath: The Forestry Commission produces statistics on a range of topics related to forestry including new planting and restocking after clear felling and these are published on its website at:
	www.forestry.gov.uk/statistics
	The UK figures for new planting and restocking from 1983 to 2012 are given in the following table:
	
		
			 Thousand hectares 
			 Year to 31 March UK new planting UK restocking 
			 1983 22.3 9.6 
			 1984 26.0 10.4 
			 1985 22.5 9.7 
			 1986 24.4 12.4 
		
	
	
		
			 1987 25.6 12.9 
			 1988 29.8 13.6 
			 1989 30.2 13.9 
			 1990 21.3 14.6 
			 1991 20.3 15.3 
			 1992 18.2 16.7 
			 1993 19.2 17.1 
			 1994 18.7 16.9 
			 1995 20.2 14.7 
			 1996 16.7 14.0 
			 1997 17.6 15.1 
			 1998 16.9. 14.2 
			 1999 17.0 14.1 
			 2000 17.9 15.2 
			 2001 18.7 15.3 
			 2002 14.4 13.9 
			 2003 13.7 14.5 
			 2004 12.4 14.9 
			 2005 12.0 16.1 
			 2006 8.8 15.9 
			 2007 10.8 19;0 
			 2008 7.5 18.9 
			 2009 6.4 16.1 
			 2010 5.4 15.1 
			 2011 8.2 14.0 
			 2012 12.7 11.8

Trees: Diseases

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent discussions he has had with his EU counterparts on transmission of tree diseases from other EU countries to the UK

David Heath: The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the right hon. Member for North Shropshire (Mr Paterson), met EU Commissioner Borg on 17 January. They discussed various plant health issues including the UK Chalara control plan, the work of the independent Tree Health and Plant Biosecurity Task Force and the review of the EU Plant Health regime. The Secretary of State emphasised that he had made plant health one of the main departmental priorities alongside animal health.

Waste Management

John Glen: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what his policy is on a zero waste economy.

Richard Benyon: The Government set out its policy in the 2011 Review of Waste Policy in England. It is to work towards an economy where material resources are fully valued, waste production is minimised and material resources are re-used, recycled or recovered wherever possible and only disposed of as a last resort.
	A report on progress against the commitments in the Waste Review was published in March 2012.

JUSTICE

Alternatives to Prison

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many out of court disposals have been issued in (a) England and Wales and (b) each police authority area in each year since 1997.

Jeremy Wright: The number of out of court disposal, administered in each police force area in England and Wales, in each year from 1997 to 2011 (latest data available), can be viewed in the following tables.
	
		
			 Number of offenders given an out of court disposal(1), by police force area in England and Wales, 1997-2011(2,3) 
			 Police force area 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 
			 Avon and Somerset 3,773 4,534 5,197 4,764 4,351 4,286 4,615 5,075 
			 Bedfordshire 2,940 2,789 2,833 2,265 3,112 2,628 2,827 3,080 
			 British Transport Police n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 Cambridgeshire 2,477 2,621 2,569 2,308 2,207 2,114 2,063 2,618 
			 Cheshire 4,048 4,587 3,592 3,111 2,780 2,085 3,051 3,268 
			 Cleveland 7,242 5,583 4,321 3,267 3,087 3,020 3,256 3,490 
			 Cumbria 2,902 3,015 3,032 2,337 2,505 2,392 2,615 2,753 
			 Derbyshire 3,832 3,532 3,301 2,917 3,161 2,732 2,794 3,371 
			 Devon and Cornwall 8,042 7,047 7,226 7,283 7,177 7,224 7,870 6,951 
			 Dorset 964 1,741 1,787 1,926 1,787 1,709 1,789 3,114 
			 Durham 2,014 2,089 2,393 2,349 2,424 2,681 2,628 2,160 
			 Essex 6,717 6,064 5,296 4,690 4,640 4,330 4,277 4,799 
			 Gloucestershire 2,331 2,897 2,754 2,848 2,828 2,815 2,590 2,696 
			 Greater Manchester 16,297 19,716 16,142 12,389 11,181 9,774 11,063 12,778 
			 Hampshire 7,592 6,424 7,478 7,014 7,436 6,765 7,587 8,747 
			 Hertfordshire 3,057 2,867 2,779 3,182 3,237 3,096 3,378 3,826 
			 Humberside 3,968 4,509 3,756 3,533 3,250 2,632 2,874 4,118 
			 Kent 7,129 8,570 8,533 7,655 7,339 6,479 8,252 10,013 
			 Lancashire 9,333 8,909 7,355 6,777 7,189 6,515 8,205 10,229 
			 Leicestershire 3,155 3,409 3,202 2,512 2,149 804 2,564 3,898 
			 Lincolnshire 2,566 2,425 1,957 1,440 1,799 2,101 2,063 2,177 
			 London 54,778 58,720 46,948 37,317 32,239 33,171 32,298 32,438 
			 Merseyside 13,763 14,205 12,159 8,216 6,142 6,331 6,165 6,388 
			 Norfolk 4,460 3,345 2,809 2,773 2,302 2,345 2,314 2,774 
			 Northamptonshire 2,352 3,176 3,021 3,431 3,679 3,560 2,716 2,591 
			 Northumbria 17,586 14,620 14,505 14,165 14,065 15,694 16,779 16,246 
			 North Yorkshire 1,852 2,238 2,531 2,461 2,590 2,646 2,722 2,740 
			 Nottinghamshire 5,966 5,808 5,323 5,142 5,118 3,862 4,814 4,868 
			 South Yorkshire 4,965 5,306 6,217 3,950 4,304 4,102 4,839 4,891 
			 Staffordshire 5,905 4,958 4,105 5,628 5,455 6,124 5,585 4,616 
			 Suffolk 3,188 3,345 2,695 3,201 3,459 3,336 3,636 3,484 
			 Surrey 2,861 3,514 3,914 3,213 4,097 3,675 4,793 5,435 
			 Sussex 6,640 5,762 6,393 6,670 7,666 8,151 8,162 8,709 
			 Thames Valley 3,705 3,209 4,626 6,790 5,157 6,149 6,534 8,243 
			 Warwickshire 2,160 2,143 2,061 1,785 2,161 2,024 2,277 1,936 
			 West Mercia 5,866 5,836 5,297 5,380 6,385 6,357 6,251 6,658 
			 West Midlands 15,836 17,093 17,138 15,575 14,517 15,078 15,143 13,751 
			 West Yorkshire 8,875 9,676 9,923 9,633 9,071 10,073 11,277 14,959 
			 Wiltshire 2,575 2,497 2,678 2,853 2,115 1,695 2,347 1,985 
			 Dyfed Powys 3,109 3,452 3,313 3,185 3,495 3,761 4,491 3,170 
			 Gwent 5,329 5,780 5,502 4,529 4,258 3,803 3,666 1,456 
			 North Wales 3,074 3,544 3,619 3,124 3,120 3,559 3,299 3,237 
			 South Wales 6,869 6,339 5,852 5,399 4,826 3,680 5,337 6,032 
			 England And Wales 282,093 287,894 266,132 238,987 229,860 225,358 241,806 255,768 
			          
		
	
	
		
			 Police force area 2005(4) 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 
			 Avon and Somerset 11,594 15,907 16,559 15,770 12,564 11,752 12,273 
			 Bedfordshire 5,295 5,639 4,890 4,910 4,486 3,385 3,204 
			 British Transport Police n/a 3,058 4,867 4,479 5,291 4,471 11,828 
			 Cambridgeshire 5,519 6,622 8,110 7,777 6,833 6,333 5,727 
			 Cheshire 7,266 8,223 7,601 7,828 7,102 7,151 6,557 
			 Cleveland 6,754 9,573 9,798 9,904 8,985 7,712 6,638 
		
	
	
		
			 Cumbria 4,116 4,892 5,241 4,346 4,058 3,786 4,385 
			 Derbyshire 6,775 7,927 9,081 7,983 5,584 5,161 5,757 
			 Devon and Cornwall 13,666 17,674 17,355 13,999 13,229 11,767 11,242 
			 Dorset 4,807 6,703 6,051 5,360 4,327 3,628 3,855 
			 Durham 4,484 6,148 6,153 5,872 6,486 6,356 5,822 
			 Essex 12,629 16,973 19,909 15,814 16,755 12,407 11,226 
			 Gloucestershire 5,606 7,069 6,256 5,191 4,437 2,929 2,822 
			 Greater Manchester 23,064 29,376 28,308 25,232 20,446 19,808 18,466 
			 Hampshire 13,583 15,447 17,430 13,522 12,841 12,213 12,053 
			 Hertfordshire 5,602 13,206 12,461 11,683 11,951 11,735 10,534 
			 Humberside 8,659 11,843 15,175 12,670 9,690 7,495 7,579 
			 Kent 15,591 19,205 20,902 20,160 20,263 16,072 14,256 
			 Lancashire 20,827 25,878 25,863 22,108 19,215 16,531 14,582 
			 Leicestershire 7,560 10,015 10,036 8,376 7,800 7,508 6,367 
			 Lincolnshire 6,386 6,413 6,353 6,097 5,571 4,182 4,547 
			 London 69,009 94,328 118,467 124,658 107,442 93,415 79,832 
			 Merseyside 22,432 23,653 22,808 25,598 25,589 21,710 17,231 
			 Norfolk 4,293 6,468 6,223 6,836 5,269 4,903 5,300 
			 Northamptonshire 4,756 7,432 7,429 6,074 5,358 4,648 4,338 
			 Northumbria 18,825 22,858 25,113 23,222 23,028 17,752 15,637 
			 North Yorkshire 4,283 5,791 7,992 6,268 5,220 4,411 4,986 
			 Nottinghamshire 10,435 13,217 12,771 10,716 10,148 9,177 10,417 
			 South Yorkshire 14,200 19,469 20,870 18,327 17,302 12,852 10,566 
			 Staffordshire 9,848 12,701 12,882 8,642 6,829 8,360 8,779 
			 Suffolk 4,773 6,003 6,814 6,628 5,878 4,371 4,237 
			 Surrey 6,809 8,744 10,415 7,210 5,921 5,436 5,077 
			 Sussex 14,598 16,463 19,024 13,385 16,040 11,674 10,692 
			 Thames Valley 21,090 22,262 24,928 22,854 18,159 15,410 15,873 
			 Warwickshire 4,207 5,382 5,107 4,364 4,113 3,568 3,077 
			 West Mercia 10,070 12,390 11,427 10,493 8,641 7,344 7,038 
			 West Midlands 28,024 32,000 31,620 29,350 22,498 14,217 13,828 
			 West Yorkshire 28,853 30,882 25,205 17,638 16,141 13,367 14,211 
			 Wiltshire 3,528 3,578 3,740 5,211 5,219 4,142 3,844 
			 Dyfed Powys 6,126 7,492 6,302 5,568 5,779 4,886 5,276 
			 Gwent 4,358 8,242 8,317 7,609 8,153 5,339 6,066 
			 North Wales 7,263 9,976 9,114 8,572 7,722 5,235 4,453 
			 South Wales 8,339 11,200 13,658 11,012 11,002 9,540 9,096 
			 England And Wales 495,902 628,322 668,625 609,316 549,365 464,139 439,574 
			 n/a = Not available. (1) Includes cautions, Penalty Notices for Disorder (PNDs) for offenders aged 16 and over, and formal warnings for cannabis possession. (2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. (3) The cautions statistics relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When an offender has been cautioned for two or more offences at the same time the principal offence is the more serious offence. (4) Penalty Notices for Disorder and formal warnings for cannabis possession were introduced nationally in 2004. Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services—Ministry of Justice

Approved Premises

Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many persons are resident at approved premises administered by the Probation Service in England and Wales; and how many such people had been convicted of (a) sexual offences and (b) offences of violence.

Jeremy Wright: As at 31 December 2012, the total number of residents in all approved premises in England and Wales was 1,870. Of these, 1,685 were in premises managed by probation trusts and 185 in independently-managed premises.
	Statistics on the offending history of those residing in approved premises are not collected centrally and could not be obtained without incurring disproportionate cost.

Courts: ICT

Alun Cairns: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what analysis his Department has conducted or commissioned on the use of remote access to magistrates courts and Crown courts.

Damian Green: An evaluation of first hearings with the defendant attending from a police station through the use of video links (virtual courts) pilot was published by the Ministry of Justice in December 2010.
	There have been no formal evaluations published by the Ministry of Justice of other uses of video links to increase remote access to the criminal courts.
	Use of video, such as the witness link operating from a local authority building in Barry to Cardiff magistrates court or remote witness links installed at Ashford police station and Bluewater shopping centre, is part of the drive to create a swifter and more efficient justice system for all by enabling the justice system to respond more effectively to the needs of victims, witnesses and professionals.

Criminal Proceedings

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  what was the longest length of time between the reporting of an offence and the conclusion of criminal proceedings in any ensuing court case in (a) each region of England and (b) Wales for cases concluded in (i) 2010-11 and (ii) 2011-12; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what the average length of time was from offence to conclusion of proceedings in court in England and Wales (a) in total and (b) by region in (i) 2010-11 and (ii) 2011-12; and if he will make a statement.

Helen Grant: The court administrative systems do not hold information on the date a crime was reported to the police.
	Table 1 presents the average (mean) number of days taken from offence to completion, broken down by regions for financial years 2010-11 and 2011-12. A case can be completed in either the magistrates court or the Crown court.
	The time taken from offence to completion is affected by factors such as the complexity of the case and the time taken to report the crime following the incident.
	In November last year, the Secretary of State announced as one of his priorities a real drive for a criminal justice and court system that works effectively and puts victims first. Work is underway to increase both the effectiveness and efficiency of the criminal justice system. It will look at the whole of the system to drive performance and tackle some of the perennial weaknesses so it is quicker, less erratic and more efficient.
	
		
			 Table 1: Average number of days taken from offence to completion in England and Wales, by region, financial years 2010-11 and 2011-12(1, 2, 3, 4) 
			 Mean 
			 Region 2010-11 2011-12 
			 England and Wales 152 154 
			    
			 England 152 154 
			 Avon & Somerset 151 155 
			 Bedfordshire 148 165 
			 Cambridgeshire 149 153 
			 Cheshire 143 136 
			 Cleveland 118 133 
			 Cumbria 129 129 
			 Derbyshire 156 159 
			 Devon & Cornwall 150 149 
			 Dorset 166 155 
			 Durham 138 144 
			 Essex 143 141 
		
	
	
		
			 Gloucestershire 169 169 
			 Greater London 160 163 
			 Greater Manchester 147 157 
			 Hampshire & Isle of Wight 150 144 
			 Hertfordshire 143 145 
			 Humberside 150 149 
			 Kent 169 175 
			 Lancashire 147 148 
			 Leicestershire 178 187 
			 Lincolnshire 149 161 
			 Merseyside 152 149 
			 Norfolk 123 136 
			 North Yorkshire 131 142 
			 Northhamptonshire 159 164 
			 Northumbria 122 128 
			 Nottinghamshire 165 169 
			 South Yorkshire 146 144 
			 Staffordshire 156 147 
			 Suffolk 130 137 
			 Surrey 170 167 
			 Sussex 142 145 
			 Thames Valley 178 178 
			 Warwickshire 172 195 
			 West Mercia 155 154 
			 West Midlands 150 147 
			 West Yorkshire 143 150 
			 Wiltshire 169 172 
			    
			 Wales 157 158 
			 Dyfed Powys 144 157 
			 Gwent 154 153 
			 North Wales 137 145 
			 South Wales 170 164 
			 (1) Excludes breaches and cases with an offence to completion time greater than 10 years (to ensure anomalies and errors are removed). (2 )Statistics are sourced from the CREST linked court data and included around 95% of completed cases. (3 )Only one offence is counted for each defendant in the case. If two or more cases completed on the same day, the case with the longest duration is included. (4 )Included all criminal cases which have received a verdict and concluded in the specified time period, in either the magistrates courts or the Crown court. Source: Libra Management Information System Timeliness Analysis Report (TAR) and CREST linked court data. HM Courts and Tribunals Service.

Fines: Greater London

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the total value was of court fines and confiscation orders (a) paid and (b) remaining unpaid in London in (i) 2010-11 and (ii) 2011-12; and if he will make a statement.

Helen Grant: The value of financial impositions and confiscation orders paid and outstanding in London is set out in the following table:
	
		
			 £ 
			  Financial impositions(1) Confiscation orders 
			 Total collected 2010-11(2) 43,245,292 27,370,877 
			 Total balance outstanding 2010-11(3) 161,920,074 251,683,091 without interest (314,468,682 with interest) 
			    
			 Total collected 2011-12(2) 46,163,532 37,090,158 
			 Total balance outstanding 2011-12(3) 169,791,595 257,570,412 without interest (334,351,854 with interest) 
			 (1) Financial impositions include fines, cost orders, compensation orders and victim surcharge orders. (2) The amount collected in the period can relate to impositions from that year or any previous year. (3) The balance outstanding includes the balance on all accounts regardless of imposition date and accounts that are being paid by instalments and accounts that were not due for payment by the end of period. 
		
	
	Of the £334,351,854 outstanding in relation to confiscation orders, About a third of the debt is money that can not be collected—£25.4 million (7.6%) relates to individuals who are deceased, deported or who cannot be located; £10.5 million (3.2%) relates to Orders which are being appealed and cannot be enforced while under appeal; and £82 million (24.5%) relates to Orders where following the conclusion of financial forensic investigations the assets have been assessed as hidden. Nearly £77 million is interest which has accrued on confiscation orders which are outside the agreed payment terms.
	We recognise that more must be done to tackle this outstanding debt. We are cracking down on fine-dodgers and improving the rate of collection is an absolute priority. The Ministry of Justice is working closely with the Home Office, Crown Prosecution Service, the Serious Fraud Office and others to improve enforcement. We are taking every action to tackle outstanding debt through targeted fine blitzes, by making even more deductions from offenders' benefits or earnings and through seizing and selling their goods.
	Criminals go to extraordinary lengths to hide the proceeds of their crimes by transferring funds abroad and disguising it with friends and family, but we are succeeding in recovering more money every year. The Serious Fraud Office and the CPS work hard to enforce the small number of high value confiscation orders which remain outstanding. They are building better relationships with overseas authorities to help track down hidden assets and are working closely to continue to recover as much money as possible.
	Crucially, an outstanding order stops the criminal from using the proceeds of crime for personal gain or further criminal activity. If they ever surface they will be seized.
	We are also working to improve the collection of fixed penalty notices. At the moment police forces have various ways of recording this information but a new system is being rolled out to make payment easier and allow us to more accurately record figures.
	HMCTS is also actively seeking a commercial partner to help reduce the cost of collection and to increase the payment of fines and confiscation orders it is responsible for. This will bring the necessary investment and technology HM Courts and Tribunals Service needs to achieve its aspirations for compliance and enforcement services in the future.

Freedom of Information

Dominic Raab: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether he plans to introduce changes to the existing Freedom of Information legislation.

Helen Grant: The Government's response to the Justice Select Committee's report on post legislative scrutiny (PLS) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (the Act), published on 30 November 2012, sets out our intentions in relation to the Act.
	We will amend the Act to give the Information Commissioner more time to prosecute alleged offences under section 77 of the Act and introduce a dedicated exemption for pre-publication research. The PLS response reaffirms the Government's commitment to the extension of the Act to companies wholly owned by any number of public authorities through the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012, and to bodies performing functions of a public nature through secondary legislation. We will also consider how the cost of compliance might be reduced through changes to the cost limit which would also require secondary legislation. The Government will also look at other options to reduce the burden on public authorities in relation to the cost limit, including where one person or group of people's use of FOIA to make unrelated requests to the same public authority is so frequent that it becomes inappropriately or disproportionately burdensome.
	We will also review the Government's policy on the use of section 53 and aspects of the existing Code of Practice issued under section 45, and issue new guidance to promote transparency by contractors providing public services. However, these aspects of the PLS response will not require legislation.
	Copies of the response can be found in the House Library and on the following web address:
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/downloads/publications/policy/moj/gov-resp-justice-comm-foi-act.pdf

Judicial Review

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment he has made of the reasons for the increase in the number of applications for judicial review.

Helen Grant: As set out in the recent engagement exercise, “Judicial Reform: proposals for reform”, there has been a significant growth in the use of judicial review to challenge the actions and decisions of public authorities, from 4,250 in 1998 to over 11,000 in 2011. This has been mainly as a result of the growth in the number of challenges made in immigration and asylum matters. We are continuing to investigate the causes.

Personal Injury: Compensation

Meg Munn: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to his answer of 15 January 2013, Official Report, column 729W, on personal injury: compensation, what other costs he has identified for his Department's consultation on raising the small claims limit.

Helen Grant: Other than publication and staff costs (which have not been calculated separately), there are no further identifiable costs to the Department associated with the current consultation exercise. An impact assessment on the potential costs and benefits to affected parties from the proposals was published on 11 December 2012 and can be downloaded from the Ministry of Justice website at:
	www.justice.gov.uk/consultations

Police: Prosecutions

Richard Graham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many police officers have been (a) charged, (b) prosecuted and (c) subsequently acquitted for actions carried out during the course of their duty in each of the last five years.

Jeremy Wright: The Ministry of Justice Court Proceedings Database holds information on defendants proceeded against, found guilty and sentenced for criminal offences in England and Wales. This database holds information on offences provided by the statutes under which proceedings are brought but not the specific circumstances of each case. This centrally held information does not include details of the occupations of defendants. As such, it is not possible to identify in all cases where a defendant is prosecuted and subsequently acquitted whether the defendant was a police officer acting during the course of their duty.
	Charging data are not collected by the Ministry of Justice.

Probation

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how he holds private sector providers of probation services accountable for the quality of supervision.

Jeremy Wright: Private sector providers do not currently supervise offenders. At present, all supervision is delivered by public-sector probation trusts.
	Our recent consultation paper ‘Transforming Rehabilitation—a revolution in the way we manage offenders’ (published on 9 January) sets out proposals for opening up service delivery to a more diverse range of providers. New providers will be required to ensure that their delivery meets all relevant quality standards and to work closely with the public sector. The public sector will retain ultimate responsibility for public protection and will manage directly those offenders who pose the highest risk of serious harm to the public.
	The consultation closes on 22 February. We will set out further details of how we will reform the way we manage offenders once we have considered responses.

Probation

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice who is responsible for recalling to prison offenders monitored under the supervision of the private or voluntary sector.

Jeremy Wright: Offenders released from imprisonment or detention and subject to electronic monitoring are monitored by a private sector contractor. The contractor is required to report any breaches detected by the equipment to officials in the National Offender Management Service (NOMS), or to the young offender's supervisor in the case of a detention and training order (DTO). The decision whether or not to recall the offender to custody is taken by NOMS officials acting on behalf of the Secretary of State, or by the courts, where the offender's supervisor decides to bring DTO breach proceedings.

Probation

David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how risk is assessed by private contractors and voluntary sector providers in the Probation Service.

Jeremy Wright: The assessment of risk is the responsibility of offender managers in probation trusts and prison-based offender supervisors. Private contractors and voluntary sector providers currently working with offenders should, however, be alert to the possibility of escalating risk and understand the importance of sharing information.

Probation

Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  what (a) the reconviction rate and (b) the predicted reconviction rate was for offenders supervised in the community by the Probation Service in the latest year for which figures are available;
	(2)  what the reconviction rate was for offenders who have completed each available probation programme in the latest period for which figures are available.

Jeremy Wright: It is not possible to provide the re-offending rates of offenders being supervised in the community by the Probation Service or following completion of the probation programme of their order. This is because the Ministry's proven re-offending data measures re-offending from the start of a court order over a 12 month period and will therefore not include all re-offences committed while under supervision. This is because (a) some orders last less than 12 months so an offender may no longer be subject to a court order at the time of committing the re-offence; and (b) some sentences last more than 12 months and the re-offending measure will not pick up any re-offences committed in months 13 and beyond.
	Similarly for prisoners released from custody on licence, some of these offenders will have received sentences of between one and two years and may no longer be on licence at the time of committing a re-offence in the one year follow-up period.
	However, for information, we have provided the proportion of offenders that committed a proven re-offence within 12 months of commencing a court order or their licence period following their release from custody (i.e. the one year proven re-offending rate) and the predicted re-offending rates for these offenders.
	Table 1 shows the one year proven re-offending rates and the predicted re-offending rate for adult offenders in England and Wales starting a court order, by probation trust in 2010.
	Table 2 shows the one year proven re-offending rates and the predicted re-offending rate for adult offenders in England and Wales being released form custody on licence, by probation trust in 2010.
	A proven re-offence is defined as any offence committed in a one year follow-up period and receiving a court conviction, caution, reprimand or warning in the one year follow-up. Following this one year period, a further six month waiting period is allowed for cases to progress through the courts.
	Please note that proven re-offending statistics are available from the Ministry of Justice website at:
	www.justice.gov.uk/statistics/reoffending/proven-re-offending
	
		
			 Table 1: Adult proven re-offending data for adult offenders commencing a court order, by probation trust in 2010 
			  Proportion of offenders who re-offend (%) Proportion of offenders who re-offend—Adjusted to baseline (%) (predicted rate)(1) 
			 Avon and Somerset 34.7 34.7 
			 Bedfordshire 28.4 29.1 
			 Cambridgeshire 35.1 34.6 
			 Cheshire 30.3 31.3 
			 Cumbria 35.4 37.6 
			 Derbyshire 29.1 29.4 
			 Devon and Cornwall 33.4 33.2 
			 Dorset 31.8 31.8 
			 Durham and Tees Valley 44.7 43.1 
			 Essex 32.7 33.7 
			 Gloucestershire 32.1 40.3 
			 Greater Manchester 33.4 32.9 
			 Hampshire 34.6 35.3 
			 Hertfordshire 32.3 33.1 
			 Humberside 33.6 35.8 
			 Kent 33.4 32.9 
			 Lancashire 39.0 37.5 
			 Leicestershire 30.8 28.8 
			 Lincolnshire 33.9 34.1 
			 London 33.4 34.1 
			 Merseyside 35.3 35.0 
			 Norfolk and Suffolk 35.4 36.4 
			 North Yorkshire 37.9 39.8 
			 Northamptonshire 29.2 32.2 
			 Northumbria 43.7 44.5 
			 Nottinghamshire 36.2 34.0 
			 South Yorkshire 35.4 34.9 
			 Staffordshire and West Midlands 29.2 31.6 
			 Surrey and Sussex 31.6 32.0 
			 Thames Valley 32.9 35.1 
			 Wales 35.9 35.6 
			 Warwickshire 26.6 32.6 
			 West Mercia 36.7 35.8 
			 West Yorkshire 34.8 36.2 
			 Wiltshire 33.3 33.1 
			 Unknown/More than one 31.5 35.3 
			 (1) See the definitions and measurement paper for an explanation on how to use and interpret the adjusted to baseline (predicted rate) www.justice.gov.uk/statistics/reoffending/proven-re-offending 
		
	
	
		
			 Table 2: Adult proven re-offending data for adult offenders released from prison on licence, by probation trust in 2010 
			  Proportion of offenders who re-offend (%) Proportion of offenders who re-offend-Adjusted to baseline (%) (predicted rate)(1) 
			 Avon and Somerset 38.6 37.5 
			 Bedfordshire 36.1 38.0 
			 Cambridgeshire 40.9 38.7 
			 Cheshire 32.7 33.7 
			 Cumbria 46.4 41.8 
			 Derbyshire 35.2 39.0 
			 Devon and Cornwall 36.0 42.1 
			 Dorset 34.6 33.5 
			 Durham and Tees Valley 47.9 43.8 
			 Essex 38.1 37.6 
			 Gloucestershire 37.4 37.8 
			 Greater Manchester 36.4 33.9 
			 Hampshire 40.4 38.1 
			 Hertfordshire 34.6 33.3 
			 Humberside 51.0 38.2 
			 Kent 37.8 33.9 
			 Lancashire 39.2 35.7 
			 Leicestershire 36.9 34.8 
			 Lincolnshire 30.7 33.6 
			 London 35.1 35.0 
			 Merseyside 38.0 35.0 
			 Norfolk and Suffolk 37.0 36.4 
			 North Yorkshire 41.2 46.0 
			 Northamptonshire 32.9 28.3 
			 Northumbria 46.4 48.4 
			 Nottinghamshire 41.0 36.0 
			 South Yorkshire 38.6 37.6 
			 Staffordshire and West Midlands 34.3 37.1 
			 Surrey and Sussex 34.6 34.2 
			 Thames Valley 39.6 34.8 
			 Wales 43.6 39.7 
			 Warwickshire 34.2 37.4 
			 West Mercia 33.7 34.1 
			 West Yorkshire 37.0 36.4 
			 Wiltshire 40.1 35.8 
			 Unknown 36.1 31.7 
			 England and Wales 38.1 36.8 
			 (1) See the definitions and measurement paper for an explanation on how to use and interpret the baseline rate www.justice.gov.uk/statistics/reoffending/proven-re-offending

Training

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many away days his Department has held since 2010; and what the cost was of each such event.

Jeremy Wright: Wherever possible, staff training events occur at departmental facilities, which incur no additional cost. However, due to the constraints on availability of suitable accommodation, on some occasions such meetings may take place at external venues.
	The Ministry's accounting systems do not separately quantify expenditure on away days. Such events are managed locally by business areas. The Ministry does not record this information centrally.
	Therefore, to establish the number and cost of away day events would require a Ministry-wide survey of all its local business areas. This would be a significant exercise and incur a disproportionate cost.
	All spending on away days is completed in line with the Finance Policy Manual, which is in line with HM Treasury Guidance on Managing Public Money, and states the following for away days and team building events:
	“These occasional events are organised to develop working relationships and achieve Departmental objectives. They are acceptable as long as the event can be justified as good value for money and can demonstrate development achievements. Costs should be reasonable and comparable to the status of the event.”

Trials

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what proportion of trials at (a) magistrates' and (b) Crown courts were ineffective (i) in total and (ii) by region in (A) 2010-11 and (B) 2011-12; and if he will make a statement.

Helen Grant: Table 1, as follows, presents the proportion of ineffective trial hearings in the magistrates courts broken down by regions for financial years 2010-11 and 2011-12. The proportion of ineffective for the Crown court is shown in Table 2 and is broken down by regions for financial years 2010-11 and 2011-12.
	Trial hearings may be ineffective for a number of reasons. This could be due to the absence of a defendant or a witness, the prosecution or defence not being ready or due to administrative reasons at the court centre.
	In November last year, the Secretary of State announced as one of his priorities a real drive for a criminal justice and court system that works effectively and puts victims first. Work is underway to increase both the effectiveness and efficiency of the criminal justice system. It will look at the whole of the system to drive performance and tackle some of the perennial weaknesses so it is quicker, less erratic and more efficient. This will include looking at the high rate of ineffective and cracked trials.
	
		
			 Table 1: Proportion of ineffective trial hearings in the magistrates courts in England and Wales, by region(1), financial years 2010-11 and 2011-12 
			 Percentage 
			 Region 2010-11 2011-12 
			 England and Wales 18 18 
			 London 18 19 
			 Midlands 20 20 
			 North East 18 16 
			 North West 14 15 
			 South East 18 19 
			 South West 20 18 
			 Wales 13 12 
			 (1) Based on HM Courts and Tribunal Service's regions. Source: Cracked and ineffective trial monitoring form, HM Courts and Tribunals Service's Performance Database. 
		
	
	
		
			 Table 2: Proportion of ineffective trial hearings in the Crown court in England and Wales, by region(1), financial years 2010-11 and 2011-12 
			 Percentage 
			 Region 2010-11 2011-12 
			 England and Wales 14 15 
			 London 15 16 
		
	
	
		
			 Midlands 12 13 
			 North East 13 14 
			 North West 12 14 
			 South East 14 15 
			 South West 14 15 
			 Wales 9 10 
			 (1 )Based on HM Courts and Tribunal Service's regions Source: HM Courts and Tribunals Service CREST system

WORK AND PENSIONS

Children: Maintenance

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many parents in each parliamentary constituency are liable to pay an amount of child maintenance following a statutory maintenance assessment by the Child Support Agency; and what the average amount of payment due is.

Steve Webb: Retrieving the information requested could not be completed without exceeding the appropriate cost limit as we would need to check individual cases as a parent can have more than one case.
	However, I will place in the Library a table showing, as of September 2012, the number of cases where child maintenance is due and the average assessment amount by parliamentary constituency of the non-resident parent.

Children: Maintenance

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many parents with care in each parliamentary constituency have a positive child maintenance assessment from the Child Support Agency; and what the average amount due is.

Steve Webb: Retrieving the information could not be completed without exceeding the appropriate cost limit as we would need to check individual cases as a parent can have more than one case.
	However, I will place in the Library a table showing, as of September 2012, the number of cases where child maintenance is due and the average assessment amount by parliamentary constituency of the parent with care.

Cold Weather Payments: High Peak

Andrew Bingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many severe winter weather payments were made to people in High Peak constituency in 2011-12.

Steve Webb: The cold weather payment scheme is administered at weather station area level. Information on the number of cold weather payments is only available at this level and not at parliamentary constituency or local authority level. Weather station coverage area boundaries are based on postcode area and do not align with other geographies.
	In the winter of 2011-12, High Peak constituency was covered by Bingley, Leek and Woodford weather stations. Table 1 gives the estimated number of cold weather payments made in the areas covered by these stations.
	The weather station areas given also covered postcode areas outside of the High Peak constituency, so these figures will include payments to people who lived in other constituencies.
	
		
			 Table 1: Volume of recipients of cold weather payments in the Bingley, Leek and Woodford weather station areas in the winter of 2011-12 
			 Weather Station Area Estimated number of payments 
			 Bingley 228,600 
			 Leek 18,200 
			 Woodford 534,000 
			 Notes: 1. The information provided is Management Information. Our preference is to answer all parliamentary questions using Official/National Statistics but in this case we only have Management Information available. It is not quality assured to the same extent as Official/National statistics. 2. Cold weather payments are made to benefit units rather than to households or individuals. A benefit unit can be a single person or a couple and can include children. The recipient volumes given are based on the number of eligible benefit units on 31 October 2011. 3. A cold weather payment of £25 is made when the average temperature has been recorded as, or is forecast to be 0°C or below over seven consecutive days at the weather station linked to an eligible recipient's postcode. 4. All figures have been rounded to the nearest 100.

Directors

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what declarations of interest must be made by his Department's non-executive directors; with what frequency any such declarations are required to be made; and if he will make that information publicly available.

Mark Hoban: Non-executives must declare, to the Secretary of State or Permanent Secretary, any personal or business interest which may, or may be perceived (by a reasonable member of the public) to influence their judgment in performing their functions and obligations. These interests include (without limitation) personal direct and indirect pecuniary interests and any such interests of close family members and/or of people living in the same household as the non-executive or their close family members.
	I refer you to the DWP annual report and accounts 2011-12, page 47, which will provide details relating to DWP non-executive directors:
	http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/dwp-annual-report-and-accounts-2011-2012.pdf
	Departments will therefore collect information from non-executives alongside other board members. This is carried out in conjunction with annual reports and accounts.
	Copies of the Register of Members Interests are laid in the House of Commons Library alongside annual report and accounts.
	Copies of the register for other board members/non-executives should be available on request.
	The Corporate Governance Code provides that the board should agree and document an appropriate system to record and manage conflicts and potential conflicts of interest of board members. These records are updated on an annual basis. As set out in the code, the board should publish, in its governance statement, how any identified conflicts, and potential conflicts, of interest of board members have been managed.
	The Corporate Governance Code can be found here:
	http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/psr_governance_corporate.htm
	The Register of Board Members Interests and Financial Reporting Manual can be found here:
	http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/d/2012_13_frem_chap05_form_and_content.pdf
	http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/dwp-annual-report-and-accounts-2011-2012.pdf

Employment and Support Allowance

Fiona O'Donnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the Welfare Benefits Up-rating Bill on the income of people in the support group for employment and support allowance; and if he will make a statement.

Steve Webb: The Welfare Benefits Up-Rating Bill is about ensuring the welfare system is affordable in light of the national economic situation. In taking these difficult decisions, we have assessed the impacts on the most vulnerable and have sought to protect them where possible.
	ESA claimants who are in the support group, will have the value of the support component and any premia fully protected in line with CPI. While the personal allowance rate will be increased by 1% in April 2014 and April 2015, we are also fully protecting any other disability-related benefits that many ESA claimants receive, including DLA, which two-thirds of ESA claimants in the support group receive.

Housing Benefit: Bolton

Yasmin Qureshi: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate his Department has made of the number of households in (a) Bolton South East constituency and (b) Bolton that are in receipt of housing benefits which exceed £500 per week in total.

Steve Webb: The number of housing benefit (HB) recipients in Bolton local authority receiving HB in excess of £500 per week at August 2012 is nil or negligible.
	Data are from SHBE, a monthly electronic scan of claimant level data direct from local authority computer systems and August 2012 is the latest available information.
	The same information by parliamentary constituency is not readily available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	Such information by parliamentary constituency that is available is on a new visualisation tool—Stat-Xplore—published at:
	http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/index.php?page=tabtool

Independent Living Fund: Northern Ireland

Margaret Ritchie: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent discussions he has had with the Minister for Social Development in Northern Ireland regarding the abolition of the Independent Living Fund; and if he will make a statement.

Esther McVey: I have written to and received several letters from the Minister for Social Development in Northern Ireland concerning the future of the Independent Living Fund (ILF).
	Both the ILF and my officials are working closely at all levels with their counterparts in Northern Ireland and I am pleased that this will continue as arrangements for future support of ILF users in Northern Ireland are developed.

Jobseeker's Allowance

Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people claiming jobseeker's allowance have been sanctioned as a result of leaving a job where they were on a zero-hours contact in each of the last three years.

Mark Hoban: The information requested is not available.

National Insurance Credits

Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  how many National Insurance credit claimants were sanctioned in the two years prior to September 2012 for refusing to comply with a Jobseeker Direction;
	(2)  how many national insurance credit claimants have been sanctioned for failing to comply with a Jobseeker Direction since 1 September 2012.

Mark Hoban: No national insurance credits claimants were sanctioned in the two years before or since 1 September 2012.
	Regulation 8A of the Social Security (Credits) Regulations 1995 provides that a person shall be entitled to credits for each week they are: available for employment; actively seeking employment; not engaged in remunerative work; and under pensionable age.
	A link to the Regulation is provided as follows:
	http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/a3-2351.pdf
	Therefore, although a credit may be disallowed (termination of entitlement) for each week a person receiving national insurance credits only fails to meet these conditions, there is no legal basis by which a sanction (a reduction of the benefit payment) can be applied to that credit.

New Enterprise Allowance

Toby Perkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people have been referred by each area's Jobcentre Plus to the new enterprise allowance programme; how many have been accepted onto the programme; and how many received the £1,000 loan since the inception of that programme.

Mark Hoban: We do not publish data on the numbers of people referred to new enterprise allowance (NEA) or the number of people who have received the £1,000 loan. However, we do have published data on the NEA mentor starts and weekly allowance starts for the period April 2011 up to and including May 2012 by local authority area. This can be found in the table at the following link:
	http://statistics.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd1/adhoc_analysis/2012/Table_1_NEA_starts_by_Local_Authority.xls

New Enterprise Allowance: Surrey

Jonathan Lord: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in (a) Woking constituency and (b) Surrey are in receipt of the new enterprise allowance.

Mark Hoban: We have published data on the number of new enterprise allowance (NEA) mentor starts and weekly allowance starts by parliamentary constituency area. This can be found in the table at the following link:
	http://data.parliament.uk/DepositedPapers/Files/DEP2012-1524/LibraryDocument124133.xls
	In Woking, there were 10 NEA mentor starts and 10 weekly allowance starts over the period June 2011 to May 2012. In the county of Surrey, there were 130 mentor starts and 60 weekly allowance starts over the same period.
	The numbers have been rounded to the nearest 10.

Senior Civil Servants

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many and what proportion of officials of the three most senior grades in his Department have (a) resigned, (b) taken voluntary early retirement, (c) left the Department for alternative employment, (d) been dismissed, (e) taken long-term sick leave and (f) taken administrative leave since May 2010.

Mark Hoban: The numbers are shown in the following table:
	
		
			  Number Proportion (percentage) 
			 (a) Resigned 10 15.6 
			 (b) Taken voluntary early retirement 16 25 
			 (c) Left the Department for alternative employment (1)19 29.7 
			 (d) Been dismissed 0 — 
			 (e) Taken long-term sick leave 5 7.8 
			 (f) Taken administrative leave since May 2010 0 — 
			 (1) Six employees who transferred to other Government Departments are included in the number who 'left the Department for an alternative department'. 
		
	
	The three most senior grades in the Department for Work and Pensions are, permanent secretary, director general and director.
	The data relates to the period 31 May 2010 to 30 November 2012 (the latest date for which the data is available). During this period the size of this group of senior civil servants has reduced from 77 to 51.
	The proportion is the number in the period expressed as a percentage of the number of senior civil servants at the start of the same period.
	Employees who match more than one category have been included in each of the categories that apply to them.

Social Fund

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 10 December 2012, Official Report, columns 48-9W, on Social Fund, how many (a) funeral payments and (b) crisis loan applications were made in (i) London and (ii) the UK in 2012; and if he will make a statement.

Steve Webb: Further to the 2010-11 and 2011-12 financial year figures given in the answer of 10 December 2012, Official Report, columns 48-9W, the following table gives the volumes of funeral payment and crisis loans in London and in Great Britain in 2012.
	Please note that the given figures are for the 2012 calendar year so will include data from both the 2011-12 and 2012-13 financial years.
	
		
			 Funeral payment and crisis loan applications in 2012 
			  Funeral payments Crisis loans 
			 London 6,900 254,000 
			 Great Britain 66,300 2,438,400 
			 Notes: 1. The information provided is Management Information. Our preference is to answer all parliamentary questions using Official/National Statistics but in this case we only have Management Information available. It is not quality assured to the same extent as Official/National statistics and there are some issues with the data; for example, it does not include applications which were processed clerically and have not yet been entered on to the Social Fund Computer System. 2. Information regarding annual expenditure for Social Fund schemes in Northern Ireland is a matter for the Northern Ireland office and is not included in the above figures. 3. Figures are for applications received, not for the number of people who made an application. Some people may have made more than one application. 4. All volumes are rounded to the nearest 100. Source: DWP Policy Budget and Management and Information System

Social Security Benefits: Fraud

Nicholas Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps he is taking to encourage the sharing of information by DWP Benefits Fraud, the Child Support Agency and HM Revenue and Customs to help reduce fraud.

Mark Hoban: The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) acknowledges the need to share information more widely with Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC) to help tackle fraud. We took steps in the Welfare Reform Act 2012 to permit the exchange of information between the two Departments for all our recognised functions. This includes the regulation of benefits (including tax credits) and child support. The legislation provides for a single data sharing gateway, which now extends to DWP functions for child support matters since the Child Support Agency ceased to be an independent agency.
	As part of joint working arrangements, the Department's Fraud Investigation Service and HMRC also exchange intelligence data to support the investigation and prosecution of DWP benefits, child benefit and tax credit fraud.

State Retirement Pensions

Andrew Bingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what consideration he has given to introducing a taper for those retiring close to the date of implementation of the single tier pension scheme.

Steve Webb: The single-tier pension will deliver a simple and fair state pension set above the basic level of means-tested support, providing clarity and confidence to better support saving for retirement. Providing this platform for saving also underpins automatic enrolment.
	Moreover, the reforms are designed to cost no more than the current system and are not about spending more money on future pensioners, but about spending money more effectively to better support saving for retirement. As a consequence some people will get more under the single-tier reforms than if the current system continued, and some less.
	Transition from the current system into the new single tier was always a key challenge and we sought views in the Green Paper on how best to achieve this in a way that delivered simplicity and clarity as quickly as possible.
	Introducing a taper for those retiring close to the date of implementation of the single-tier pension scheme would add further complexity into the system and would not meet our objectives to simplify the system to support today's working people.
	Current pensioners remain a priority for the Government and we have introduced the triple lock introduced to ensure that the basic state pension rises by at least 2.5% each year. Those who reach state pension age before the reforms are implemented will continue to receive their state pension in line with the existing rules.

Universal Credit

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the level of understanding among user groups of proposed changes in (a) retrospective payments and (b) use of IT in benefit administration consequent on the introduction of universal credit.

Mark Hoban: The information is as follows:
	(a) DWP currently pays all its working age benefits to claimants in arrears. We will maintain this approach by paying universal credit in arrears.
	(b) A survey of existing benefits and tax credit recipients found that 78% already use the internet and, of these, 41 % carry out online banking, a transaction considered similar to claiming universal credit.(1) Indeed, our latest figures show that more than 40% of JSA claims received by the Department are now made online. We recognise that the proportion of on-line claims will build up as people are supported to use the new system and as we gradually build up the functions and applications that people can access on-line.
	Continued use of claimant insight and testing has informed the design of the online service and the support that will be available through our delivery partners and Jobcentres to access the service or improve their capability to transact.
	(1) Tu and Ginnis, 2012, “Work and the welfare system; a survey of benefits and tax credits recipients”, Department for Work and Pensions research report 800,
	http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd5/rports2011-2012/rrep800.pdf

Universal Credit

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  if he will prevent carers with a dependent child aged (a) under 13 and (b) over 13 who are in receipt of universal credit being sanctioned because they (i) are unable to find work compatible with their child's normal school hours, (ii) decline a job because the hours are incompatible with their child's normal school hours and (iii) leave a job because the hours are no longer compatible with their child's normal school hours; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what steps he plans to take to prevent a carer who is in receipt of universal credit and has a dependent child aged 13 or over, being required to accept a job incompatible with their caring responsibilities if they have no reasonable prospect of finding work locally which is compatible with those responsibilities; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  if a responsible carer with a dependent child aged under 13 is at risk of being sanctioned under universal credit if there are no jobs available locally which are compatible with their child's normal school hours; and if he will make a statement;
	(4)  what steps he plans to take to prevent carers in receipt of universal credit who have a dependent child aged under 13, being forced to accept jobs that are incompatible with their child's normal school hours; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Hoban: I refer the right hon. Member to the reply I gave to his previous question number 139927 on 28 January 2013, Official Report, column 655W.
	In addition, under universal credit, responsible carers of dependent children aged under five years old will not be required to find or take up paid work.
	Responsible carers of a dependent child aged from five-years-old to 12-years-old will only be expected to find and take paid work which is compatible with their child's normal school hours. These claimants will not have to show reasonable prospects of finding paid employment for those hours.
	As these claimants are only required to apply for and take up paid work that is compatible with their child's normal school hours, we will not require the claimant to find or accept employment that is incompatible with these hours. If there are no current jobs available in their travel to work area that fit with the restricted hours then a claimant will not be sanctioned for refusing jobs that are available but that do not fit with their child's normal school hours.
	If a claimant with a dependent child of any age leaves their job due to their working hours no longer being compatible with their caring responsibilities, a decision maker will consider the claimant's circumstances as a whole, including whether there were other options available to the claimant with their employer before considering if a sanction is appropriate.

Work Capability Assessment

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the value of his Department's contracts with Atos are; and in what proportion of appeals against the original decision the appellant is (a) successful and (b) unsuccessful.

Mark Hoban: holding answer 24 January 2013
	The values of the Atos contracts are detailed in the following table and are the estimated values for the full length of the contracts
	
		
			 Contract name Start date End date Contract spend 2011-2012 (£) 
			 Medical Services 1 September 2005 31 August 2015 112,366,443 
			 Occupational Health 4 August 2008 2 August 2013 2,373,982 
			 enGage Government Gateway 1 March 2006 31 March 2014 16.79 million 
			 Personal Independence Payment (PIP) Assessment Service (Lot 1) 31 July 2012 30 July 2017 0 
			 Personal Independence Payment (PIP) Assessment Service (Lot 3) 31 July 2012 30 July 2017 0 
			 Mandatory Work Activity 30 July 2012 31 March 2015 0 
		
	
	The following data on appeals relates to claimants appealing a fit for work decision following the initial work capability assessment on the claim and where the appeal has been heard by HM Courts and Tribunals Service. Any appeals that are still in progress are excluded, so the figures may change in future updates of the statistics.
	1,252,500 work capability assessments were undertaken on initial employment and support allowance cases in the period October 2008 to November 2011. Of these, DWP decision makers found 741,900 fit for work.
	To date, 289,300 appeals have been heard against these Fit for Work decisions. 180,900 (63%) of the appeals heard were confirmed in the Department's favour, the remaining 108,400 (37%) were confirmed in the favour of the claimant.

Work Capability Assessment

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many work capability assessments for people on incapacity benefit were (a) carried out and (b) subsequently successfully appealed against in (i) South Lanarkshire, (ii) Scotland and (iii) the UK in (A) 2010, (B) 2011 and (C) 2012.

Mark Hoban: Starting from October 2010 most claimants who receive incapacity benefit (IB), severe disablement allowance (SDA) and income support (IS) on the grounds of incapacity will be assessed to see if they qualify for ESA. The reassessment commenced with a trial in the Aberdeen and Burnley areas in October 2010. The national roll-out started with a limited introductory phase at the end of February 2011 and reached full scale in April 2011. The Department regularly publishes official statistics on the reassessment of incapacity benefits claimants for employment and support allowance (ESA) by date of referral for reassessment. The report and its supplementary tables can be found at:
	http://statistics.dwp.gov.uk/asd/workingage/index.php?page=esa_ibr
	Information based on reassessment result date is not available. Further information on appeals heard against reassessment outcomes is not available.